Dead to Rights or the Vampire Still Loves You
by HollyGoLightly99
Summary: Following "The Gift" and D&G. Rated T on most chapters, M on some. True to the characters of the books, the plot continues: Eric & Sookie are working things out, but things just keep getting in the way! Completed on 4-23-10...enjoy!
1. Introduction

**Dead to Rights (or the Vampire Still Loves You)**

**Setting:** Takes place over a 9-month period from mid-January to mid-September in Bon Temps, Shreveport, and a secret undisclosed location.

**Warning:** Potential Spoilers for all books (including a short story or two)

**Disclaimer:**These are characters from the fabulous brain of Charlaine Harris. They are not my creations, I'm just taking them out to dinner for the evening and will bring the home by midnight! Promise!

**Additional disclaimer:** 1st time writing, so my apologies!

**Plot so far:**Sookie and Eric are working on their "understanding" with some impediments, but then Quinn…

**Introduction**

**3****rd**** Person Narrative**

The door closed to let out the "visitors" from the Sharp Claw pack. Sookie gave a small sigh of relief that she'd pulled it off. She had rescued Preston from his would-be captors and had tended to his wounds. This made her feel good—necessary—needed—wanted. She turned around to see Preston, very naked in all his beautiful glory. Without thought, or reason, or regard to herself, or her situation she made her move. Preston was willing and together they climbed that magical pleasure mountain several times.

* * *

Out in the woods, later that evening, Preston met with Naill. "Did you give my great-granddaughter her _gift_?"

"Yes, Your Highness, she was very _receptive_ toward getting it."

"Good. I hope she enjoys it. I didn't know what else to give her, and I can tell that she's been pining for family. Well, I do hope she likes it—it's not like she can return it at the-what is that place humans go to shop? The _mall_?"

"Yes, the mall."

"Thank you, Preston. I believe this makes us even now, right?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Good. I will ask that you not mention this to anyone. Also, I will ask that you make no contact with Sookie Stackhouse, nor anyone that she associates with ever in your lifetime. Don't query me as to why, just know that I have my reasons."

"Yes, Your Highness, I shall do your bidding."

"Very well," Niall said clapping Preston on the shoulder like a football coach, "I will take my leave of you now and go a see my great granddaughter." And with that, both Faeries poofed into the other realm.


	2. Chapter 1 Sookie & the Little Blue Stick

**Disclaimer:** These are characters from the fabulous brain of Charlaine Harris. They are not my creations, I'm just taking them out to dinner for the evening and will bring the home by midnight! Promise!

**Sookie POV**

**Chapter 1 Sookie and the Little Blue Stick**

"Oh hell," I said out loud to the little blue stick. "Eric? No. Not possible." And then I had another really awful OSM and I remembered. The only time in my life that I had unprotected sex with someone who could actually get me pregnant, and I get knocked up! Well, at least I knew the date for sure, December 24th. That's good since I didn't really know the father all that well. His name was Preston Pardloe, the were, from the Deer Killer Pack from south of Baton Rouge.

_Well you've outdone yourself this time Stackhouse! _I thought to myself. _You are officially white trash. You're a barmaid in a dead-end job, under educated, unmarried, and now knocked up by a one night stand. You're hardly the picture of a Southern Belle. _I could just hear Gran rolling over in her grave. Well, hmmm…actually, maybe she'd be supportive of me instead. After all, she had a tryst with Fintan Brigant the Faery –TWICE – and had my dad and Aunt Linda, so I guess we are just peas in a pod, she and I.

Oh, I wish Amelia were here. Amelia would know just what to say to make me feel better. I was glad to get her out of the house since Tray's death. She was getting so mopy—a real downer, but who could blame her. Certainly not me! I mean, her boyfriend had died trying to save me in a war that I dragged most of my friends and family into. She had left to go back to her home in New Orleans for about a three-month period because she couldn't stand to be around Bon Temps (read ME) during the aftermath of Tray's funeral. I hoped that she'd be back, but I kind of doubted it.

I was running out of fingers to tally up the dead that had crossed my path since I had first come across vampires. The Ratrays, Maudette Pickens, poor Dawn, Gran, (I welled up at the thought of her kind soul), LaFayette, cousin Hadley, Godric, Debbie Pelt (no loss there), Peter Threadgood (there either), Sophie-Anne and her children, Crystal (poor thing), and even my own Faery godmother Claudine--the list was endless. _I am a harbinger of death._ I thought to myself. Quite an irony since I would now be bringing a new life into the world. That gave me kind of a glimmer of hope. Maybe everything would work out for me after all.


	3. Chapter 2 Sookie calls Dr Ludwig

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own any of these characters. Many thanks for Charlaine Harris for imaging them and allowing us to play with them for a while.

Please read and review--all sorts of reviews are welcome and appreciated. This is a longer chapter than the other two--Enjoy!

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**Chapter 2 Sookie Calls Dr. Ludwig**

_Ring. Ring. Ring. "Hello, you've reached the offices of Dr. Ludwig…blah blah blah…not accepting new patients….blah blah blah…"_ I sat and waited for the doctor's voice mail message to finish. I checked my watch this time and it took a full three and a half minutes. I guess she figured most people would hang up and call someone else and not even bother with a message. Finally!

"Hello?" said Dr. Ludwig.

"Hello Dr. Ludwig! I hope you remember me. My name is Sookie Stackhouse-" I said as charmingly as I could. After all, I don't know any other supe doctors and I was hoping she would be able to help me.

"Yes of course I remember you Sookie! I hope you haven't been playing with any other maenads lately?" questioned the doctor.

"No, but I do have a question to ask you," I said hopefully.

"Go on," she said.

"Well, I am in a bit of a pickle. You see," I said stalling, though I don't know what for. The deed was done, right? I couldn't be less pregnant by stalling. It just seemed really hard to say out loud to someone else. Like that made it _more_ official.

"I'm waiting Miss Stackhouse, I do have other patients," she said with a twinkle in her voice, like she knew what I was going to say.

"Well, I am pregnant."

"I see, and who's the father?"

"Do you need to know that? Really?" I asked. Not that I thought she was a gossip, but did it really matter?

"Yes of course I do, silly girl! I have to know what cross species we are dealing with. Even if the father was 100% human, you are still part Fae and that makes this a cross-species birth. Those types of pregnancies are always fun for me to take care of. I love babies! So who?" inquired Dr. Ludwig again.

"Well, it's not Eric," I said with more than a little regret, "I wish it could be his. That would make this whole event tolerable. I don't know how he's going to take it, with our bond and all." I said this with a lot of regret. How was he going to take this? I had to tell him, of course, but would I even live very long to "discuss" it with him after he found out? I didn't know if I really was ready to reveal the name of the father at this point.

Dr. Ludwig must of sensed my hesitation because she said, "You're stalling. I don't need to know the name, but just the species."

"Oh, alright then. He was a were."

"Quinn?!" guessed a rather-astonished doctor.

"NO!! Not Quinn! He was a long time ago, and only once and with protection. This was a were from the Deer Killer pack out of Baton Rouge. I met him on Christmas Eve outside my house. He was trying to escape from a rival pack and I helped him. He was injured and I patched him up and we got a little frisky. I wasn't even thinking about protection. We went our separate ways that night and I hadn't really even thought about it since. Honestly, I am surprised with everything my poor body has been through in the past few weeks, that I would be able to carry a baby still," I said, sounding and feeling more relieved than I had in the past month.

"Well," said Dr. Ludwig thoughtfully, "given those circumstances, I would like to see you as soon as possible. Would tomorrow be too early?"

"No. I can meet you…where? I don't know where your office is." I don't think I ever thought about where she had an office. She's a creature of mystery.

"I make house calls, so I will be at your house at 3 p.m. tomorrow. Does that fit in your schedule?"

"Yes, thanks. I don't work until the day after next, so that would be just fine."

"Good, I will see you then. In the mean time, please make out a list of all the questions you would like to ask me. Then go out and get a human how-to-have-a-baby book. They are all pretty well written and this pregnancy will generally follow about the same gestation time."

"All right. Thanks, I will," I said and hung up the phone.

* * *

Well, that was that. I felt relieved that I had told someone and _not_ had that someone flip out and scold me as I feared might happen. I mentally patted myself on the back that I'd called the doctor first. My Southern sensibilities led me to think that everyone would be scolding me, or telling me off for having a child out of wedlock. Well, I suppose technically in the vampire universe, I _was_ married.

That thought of Eric made me shudder. I knew I'd have to see him; face him; confess to him; tell him I betrayed him to another (at least in his eyes)—again—I just hope he didn't kill me when he found out.

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. I made my mind up right then and there to call Eric.

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A/N: ~Until tomorrow~

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	4. Chapter 3 Sookie Talks with Eric

**Chapter 3 Part I **

**The Call to Eric**

I felt my relationship with Eric was still on very shaky ground. In fact, ever since the Faery War, I haven't been able to feel anything through the bond and that has had me worried. I never realized what I'd been feeling until I wasn't able feel it anymore and its lack of presence was very disconcerting to say the least.

I hated, and I mean _REALLY_ hated, admitting that I _still_ had feelings for my Viking—it meant I had had them all along. I had always thought it was the _bond_ that attracted me to him so intensely, but never realized that the blood bond we shared was nothing more than a conduit for how we really felt about each other—that every time he walked in unannounced to Merlotte's those happy feelings were _his_ feelings for _me_. I wondered how it felt for him, knowing that every time I saw him, I was insanely happy for two seconds—then I would force my annoyance at my own feelings down the bond's pipeline because I didn't realize they were my own—I always thought they were his, that it was his little control game. He must have a lot more patience for me than I would have had for him, had the tables been turned.

It had been about four weeks since the Faery War and I had not seen him at all. He'd called once—only once—to see how I was doing, and that was about three weeks ago when I was still in fairly rough shape. Pam had called a lot, and I think that Eric put her up to it. She even came to see me about a week ago and brought flowers of all things! I was thrilled.

I decided that it was time to see Eric, face-to-face. I had to tell him I was feeling better, that I was not angry about him not helping me…actually, he still needed to tell me why, but I wasn't going to press him. I just really needed to see him. I couldn't explain why.

I called Fangtasia. "Good Evening-Fangtasia-the bar with bite," said a dead-pan Pam who sounded _super_ thrilled to be there, as usual.

"EES za Mastaire at 'ome?" I asked in my best Dracula imitation voice—just to be witty. Silence. "Pam, is Eric there?" I asked again, but in my normal voice.

"Yes. You called him Master. Are you feeling all right?" said Pam

"Just peachy keen and ducky, now can I talk to him, or will you be standing there all night asking me silly-"

"Hello Sookie, my lover," interrupted the world's most sexy voice.

"Hello Eric, my lover," I said, knowing that would make him feel good, and a _feeling good_ vampire is better than the opposite. "Are you able to break away from the bar tonight to come and see me? I am up to visitors and I think that we need to have our little talk."

Silence—what's with these vamps tonight, geeze!

"Eric?" I said again, annoyed at the dead air.

"Sookie?" said Pam's voice again.

"Yes" I said.

"Eric just flew out of here and said to tell you that he would be at your house in an hour or less and to please wait up for him. What did you say to him this time?" said Pam. I could tell she was smiling.

"Nothing in particular. I just told him that I needed to see him tonight to talk. Why?"

"Well he had a love-sick puppy grin plastered all over his face. He grabbed something from his desk and bolted. Whatever you said to him was the right thing. You _know_ how he feels about you don't you?" said Pam, teasing me.

"No. How's that Pam?" I said very curious, but terrified of what she might say.

"Just the same as you do," Pam giggled and hung up before I had a chance to answer.

Well that was "_interesting_" conversation, I thought. I flew around the house to tidy up some last minute things and freshened up. I had just sat down on the couch, wondering just how I felt about my Viking when I heard a knock at the front door.

**Chapter 3 Part II **

**Face-to-Face with Eric**

It was only 45 minutes later, about midnight, and although I was expecting Eric, I wasn't expecting him that soon and certainly not at my front door. He knew to come to the back like all my friends and family do.

"What are you doing at the front door Eric?" I said, confused. Gran wouldn't have been very pleased with my manners. I should have greeted him and asked him in.

"I thought I would be a gentleman and allow you the opportunity to receive me into your home, formally, since you hadn't seen me in a—what is that phrase you always say—in a coon's age?" he said, with the last little bit being said in a Southern drawl that _totally _didn't suit my Viking.

I rolled my eyeballs to the very back of my head and shook my head slightly and opened the door all the way. My jaw dropped. There stood Eric with flowers (long stemmed red roses-two dozen), a huge box of chocolates and a dumb-ass, cheeky grin.

My heart thumped when I fully saw him. Had I really forgotten how beautiful he was? His perfect blond hair, his sparkling blue eyes, his really cute ass that just walked right by me…

"Come on in," I said even though he was already there. _My lord, _I thought to myself, _am I in high school? I feel like a teenager who scored a date to the prom with the captain of the football team._ I shook my head a little and slipped out of my reverie.

"Hello, lover," said Eric with a gentle voice, "how are you? Are you feeling all right? Do you need to sit down? Can I get you something to eat? Can I put these flowers in a vase for you?"

"Well, fine, no, no thank you, and I will go ahead and find a vase—in that order. If you are done interrogating me for right now, you could carry the flowers back to the kitchen so I can arrange them," I said a bit annoyed that I was being babied so much. Ugh!

He stood there gaping at me.

"What is your problem?" I asked now getting a bit hot under the collar at him.

He looked at me in earnest and blurted out, "Shouldn't you still be in bed recovering? Sookie, I never thought you'd recover from those injuries as well as it looks like you have, nor as fast even with my blood. I'm just amazed."

"Well," I said brightly, walking toward the kitchen with him in tow, "I've made a full and complete physical recovery, in large part thanks to your blood and in a less substantial part thanks to my stubborn will. I am still a bit nervous about certain things sometimes-being alone, sleeping, and stuff like that, but other than that, I'm fine. How are you-" I began to ask how he was feeling, but he tossed the flowers and chocolates on the kitchen table, then pulled me toward him and kissed me like the world was going to end tomorrow.

I pulled back after a few minutes, with my own cheesy-ass grin slapped on my face and said, "the flowers. We should really get them in some water." He smiled at me and Eskimo kissed my nose and let me attend to the flowers. I found Gran's old tall cut glass vase that she was so fond of and cut the bottoms off the roses and put them in the vase and filled it with water.

While I was fussing over them and making sure they were arranged just so, I pricked my finger on one of the thorns. I absent mindedly squeezed a little blood out of the wound and immediately had a vampire sucking it.

It was kind of erotic feeling, so I let him continue for a second or two. Finally, he stopped and looked at me with a very serious and menacing look.

"Sookie, my lover," he said with a sinister cadence, "would you mind telling me why you taste like Faery?"

"Duh! I am one-eighth Faery, Eric. You remember Naill, right? My great-grandfather, the Prince of all the Faeries who sealed himself off from me forever?" I said with honest incredulity and sarcasm.

"Yes. Yes Sookie, I remember Naill all too well. When I tasted your blood just now, it tasted a whole lot stronger than one-eighth Faery. What kind of game are you playing at Sookie? I thought you called me up tonight to have _our talk_ and to come to an understanding. I am thinking now that you are going to be telling me that you've found another lover, that you are," he sighed heavily, "dumping me—again." The most depressing sight in the world was a dejected vampire, and my heart went out to him.

I was shocked. All that from a little taste of blood? And what did he mean by _tasted a whole lot stronger than one-eighth Faery?_ Wouldn't I taste like a were and like me? "Eric, come to the living room, _my lover,"_ I threw that in to let him know where I was coming from, "and we'll talk about things."

I led him down the hall from the kitchen to the living room and plunked him on the couch and sat a cushion down from him. I put my hand on his knee and gently rubbed it, waiting for the conversation to begin. I wanted him to make the first move.

He stared at me for a few minutes before he spoke. "Sookie, I want to tell you why I didn't rescue you from those two Faery assassins," he began…okay I was waiting even though I had already forgiven him. "Before any of the Faery nonsense began, Naill wanted you to make up your mind about me and he suppressed the bond, so that you could decide about me. He didn't feel it was fair for you to be tethered to me against your will. I agreed to it and allowed him to do this. He made me promise I would tell you about it when the time was right, but not right away. I _only_ knew that you were kidnapped because Bill told me and I sent him after you, since he saw you get taken and Naill went too, but they took off so fast, I didn't get a chance to ask them where they were going. Naill took Bill into the Fae portal with him and simply vanished before could make it to join them.

"My lover, I couldn't track you and I was beside myself about not being able to find you through the bond. I knew you were in horrible trouble, but I didn't know that you were being tortured. After Bill and Naill found you they brought you back to the hospital to recover. Dr. Ludwig called me to tell me you were alive, but only told me that you were injured, not that you were so gravely injured. She just said that you were safe and needed my blood to heal. I'm so sorry. I felt dead inside when I saw you in that bed all chewed up. Those fucking Faeries! I would have killed them slowly for your pleasure if they had lived."

Well, that was a revelation. I didn't know what to say, but finally I reached out and held his cheek in my hand and managed, "And I _blamed_ you for not rescuing me. I said such awful things to you and at the time I meant them. No wonder you said I was killing you. Can you ever forgive me for doubting you like that?"

"Sookie, my lover, there is nothing to forgive. I hope that you can forgive me for not being your knight in shining armor. Are you still angry with me? Can you forgive me?" asked Eric. He was so desperate about being forgiven.

"Eric, of course I will forgive you, _do_ forgive you, for something that was so clearly beyond your control. If the situation was reversed, I would feel as badly as you do and as guilty and you would realize that there isn't any need for forgiveness in this situation. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Let's let bygones be bygones and move on."

"Very well, dear one, very well."

"I want to tell you something—a little _revelation_ of my own," I said as diplomatically as I could. I had already forgiven him for not coming to my rescue and I wanted to confide in him now, hoping to find the same forgiveness and understanding.


	5. Chapter 4 Sookie Tells Eric

**Chapter 4 Sookie Tells Eric**

"_I want to tell you something—a little _revelation_ of my own," I said… (from the last chapter...)_

* * *

Eric's eyebrows rose up. "A little revelation of your own?" Eric asked, totally surprised, but amused. I'm sure he thought I was going to be cute. Well here goes nothing.

"Eric," I said, "I was alone this year for Christmas Eve. Now, keep in mind this was before the Faery War and before we got back together, understand?"

"Yes lover, I realize I neglected you while I was preparing for ou—my future existence, go on," said Eric looking very sternly at me.

"Well, I hadn't heard from you in a long, LONG time, and I didn't have anyone with me for Christmas Eve. I was alone entirely and I went for a walk in the woods…" I recounted the whole tale of Preston, but without saying his name to Eric—just a little detail left out, no harm done, "…and I just took a test earlier today and discovered that I am pregnant."

Eric just sat there looking at me. He didn't move, or breathe, for about 5 minutes, but it seemed like an hour. I stared back for a long time shrunken back against the couch. I was just considering getting up and pacing, or calling Pam to see if Eric was in shock or something, when I decided I couldn't take it anymore.

"Eric? Are you okay? Do you hate me?" I asked. I didn't even begin to imagine what was going on in that vampire mind of his. I imagine that he was thinking of ways to kill me and get me out of his system forever. I sure felt that I totally disappointed him. I couldn't stand it any longer, "If you don't speak to me again in your whole life, I can understand." And with that I stood to get up and walk out of the room.

"No you don't!" said a steal-toned and stern-sounding Eric grabbing my arm, "You are not leaving this room. Sit down and hear me out."

I sat wide-eyed and fearful of the sentence that was about imposed on me. Well, it was my own damned fault. After all, in his eyes we were married now, and I am sure he perceived that I had double crossed him with someone else. He often said he didn't like being bound so tightly to me, and I am sure that he's considered more than once to kill me and put _me_ out of _his_ misery, so to speak. This time I may have crossed that line of forgiveness with him. He drew breath to speak and I got terribly nervous.

"You continue to amaze me, my lover," he began. I was glad he was calling me his lover again, that gave me hope that I wouldn't die tonight. "I can buy you anything you've ever wanted," (he listed many of the things, including real estate, jewels, clothes, etc), "but this is the one thing that I could never give you—a child," he said in stark contrast to how I thought he would react. "I am very happy for you—for us."

Well, as you can imagine, my jaw just about hit the carpet. I said, "So you're not going to kill me?"

"No!" Eric chuckled.

"Eric, you're not even a little mad at me, or annoyed at me?"

"Do you require me to be?" again chuckling.

"No," I said bewildered, "but I just thought that you would angry about my being with another guy."

"Well, as you so carefully pointed out, it was one time, when we were _not_ together yet. I hope that you wouldn't be doing this again? I'd kill you without hesitation, or regret, my lover, if you slept with anyone again, now that we **are** _together_, as you put," said Eric soberly.

Well that was food for thought. "And I never would," I told him just as soberly. And then out of nowhere, I sealed myself to the vampire forever and said, "I love you."

"I love you too Sookie," and he kissed me. And I felt it. Through the bond. The passion, the love, the desire, the comfort, the understanding, the want, the need and every other emotion in the world filled me all at once through the bond.

I pulled back and met Eric's gaze with wide eyes. "What was that," I said, my voice barely audible, "did you feel that too?"

"Yes, my lover. I felt that too," he murmured between placing feathery light kisses all over my face. "That was our bond being put back in place. Naill said that the suppression could only be lifted, or severed permanently, when you told me how you truly felt about me. You just told me you loved me, and that must have been true, because we are again joined together by our bond. I am the happiest man in the world right now. Sookie," he said while slipping off the couch onto his knee. My heart skipped a couple beats, "will you marry me?"

Marry him? My head began spinning, I couldn't breathe, and then the room turned black.

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**A/N:** Obviously a shorty, but I mean for it to be a cliffhanger. I'll post more later tonight or tomorrow. No sense making you wait too long, right???

Please comment, complement, critique and criticize to your heart's content. I love it all!

All characters belong, of course, to Ms. Harris--thanks for allow us all to have some fun with them!


	6. Chapter 5 Sookie & Eric

**Chapter 5 Sookie & Eric**

_Sookie," he said while slipping off the couch onto his knee. My heart skipped a couple beats, "will you marry me?"_

_Marry him? My head began spinning, I couldn't breathe, and then the room turned black._

* * *

When I awoke, I was lying in my bed—naked—with Eric—also naked—hovering over me. "Are you taking advantage of a damsel in distress?" I challenged groggily.

"Hardly," he said propping himself up on one elbow, tracing his fingers around various portions of my anatomy. "I am very _patiently_ waiting for you to wake up from your little fainting spell, which you have. It's nice to know that I can knock you off your feet—thank you for that my lover. I am waiting for an answer to my question. Do you remember what I asked you?" he quizzed.

Now, I had to think for a moment, and retrace my steps, but then it hit me, "Yes…I do," I said cautiously.

"Good, now please respond to my question," he smirked.

"Okay," I said.

"Okay you will answer my question, or okay you'll marry me," queried my Viking.

"Yes," I teased.

"Yes what," he demanded more firmly.

"Yes Eric, I will marry you and I will be your wife and I will love you forever," I said blabbing more of my feelings that I needed to say, but what the heck, I was going to marry this magnificent, beautiful Viking, so why not pour it all out!

This garnered a groan of pleasure both audible and searing through the bond. It was pure joy to me on both counts. A pair of soft cool lips came crashing down on mine with a frenzy that I'd only read about in books. His hands were all over my body, researching my anatomy. I was trying to keep up with him and failing miserably, but Eric didn't seem to care about my speed, he was too busy nuzzling my breasts. I moaned in delight and shut my eyes for a second while he was moving down on my torso. In that spilt second, the hour of my torture passed again—in full review like a really bad horror movie. My eyes flew open and I screamed, "Eric!"

Slightly before I screamed, Eric stopped and brought his face near mine. "What is it Sookie? I felt the worst terror through the bond. Did I frighten you?"

"No baby, you didn't," I said, holding back a tear and choking up. I was shaking like a leaf and said, "I didn't think I would react this way. Do you think you could just hold me a little for now? Maybe we could just talk a little bit?"

I wasn't sure, but I thought I heard Eric mumble something about _fucking Faeries_ again, but then he said, "I'll hold you all night, every night, forever."

"Thank you, sweetie—I—I don't know what that was," I started to explain, "but when I closed my eyes, I had a flashback—I was being tortured again," I sighed in self-disappointment. "I guess I just have to get used to being touched again. I know logically that you'll never hurt me, but my brain just can't seem to get it through its thick skull that you are one of the good guys," I rambled.

"I better be the _only_ good guy touching you!" he quipped winking and pinching my butt very harshly. I squealed and laughed.

"So, tell me something, my Viking lover," I mused.

"Anything you want."

"Are we engaged?"

"Yes, in my world we are already married, but in your world we are officially engaged. Why?"

"Where's my ring?" I demanded with good humor, "In your world you probably don't have rings of engagement, but it my world we do. Sooo….where is it?"

"Are you saying that you are marrying me just for the _bling_?" he asked, feigning shock. I was shocked myself, I didn't know he knew the work bling—it was such a modern term! Do vampires have a Modern-Word version of the Word-of-the-Day calendar? I wondered.

"No, but to the victor go the spoils, now my _bling_—I mean my ring, did you have one for me, did you think this out like you usually do, or was this a spur-of-the-moment, question-popping session," I said.

"Well, my lover, if you would care to look at the third finger of your left hand you will find an 18k white gold ring with a 2k heart shaped diamond with two pear cut 1k rubies on either side," he rattled off the ring stats like a jeweler. He was just like the cat that ate the canary. Then he bragged, while admiring it on my finger, "I designed it myself," pausing, before he added in true vampire form, "shortly after we were bonded in Rhodes, and I have been waiting for the right moment to give it to you." Well, romantic—even if a little predetermined.

I looked. I was beautiful, so meaningful, so thoughtful. I welled up, "When did you put it on my finger, I don't remember feeling it go on, and I didn't even feel it before I asked about it."

"I slipped it on just before you fainted, but apparently you must have been on your way _out_ at the time," he said with a smirked and a sparkle in his blue eyes.

I examined my beautiful ring by turning my hand from side to side to catch the light coming from the bathroom. I thought about its design and asked Eric about it.

"Dear one, the two tear drop rubies represent our bond and the diamond represents our love, strong and solid as a rock—unbreakable."

"I adore it," I whispered in his ear, "just like I adore you." I kissed him on his neck and moved to explore his body all over. He let me without doing much more than stroking my arm or back or whatever was within easy reach of his hands. I finally found that gracious plenty I like so much, and took it in my mouth while he moaned, partly in pleasure and partly in frustration. I could feel both coming from the bond, and I knew that he was holding back on purpose. He wanted to touch me as much as a caged horse at the beginning of the Kentucky derby wants to bolt out of the starting gate. He was holding off until I gave him the go ahead to pursue me. I decided I had to let him try it again. I moved back up to his face as kissed him full on the mouth and leaned to whisper in his ear, "Viking come and take what's yours."

That did it.

Eric was all over me at once. I moaned as each little part of my body was explored fully. My breasts got special attention and then he moved downward. His long fingers darted in and out of me with a slow and building rhythm. They were replaced with his tongue at regular intervals and a command to watch him—no problem there!. I kept my eyes open the whole time, knowing that if I closed them, I might go somewhere I didn't want to.

I climaxed as his fingers moved back in and scream, "Eric!" when he bit my inner thigh. He sucked harder and longer than he ever had before and I felt a little light headed. I felt a new surge through the bond and screamed, "Oh God…Eric…need you in me….NOW!" and no sooner had I uttered the words, then he was in me.

He rode me hard and made me groan and scream with ecstasy. I had never experienced such a frenzied Eric before. I felt his emotions through the bond—frenzy, unbridled horniness, passion, love, want, desire and need all rolled into one. Finally, he reached his release—me having had mine already in spades. He didn't need to breathe, but he was panting, breathlessly, above me with a foreboding look on his face.

"Sookie, what the hell was that?" he said, annoyed at me apparently.

"You're _welcome_," my facetious side said, "what do you mean by, 'what the hell'?"

"Sookie, when I drank your blood it had so much Fae essence in it that I got high—I could hardly control myself. I could have killed you. So I again ask you, _what the hell_? Why is your blood so much _more_ potent than before?"

"I don't know, maybe the baby enhances my Fae blood?" I offered.

"Hmm, amazing as that was, I think the sooner you see Dr. Ludwig, the better."

"Well, I have an appointment with her tomorrow at 3 p.m. I'll ask her about this and see what she says. Maybe you shouldn't have any of my blood while I am pregnant. Are you able to survive without it?"

That produced a roar of laughter and some deep belly chuckling from my ancient lover. "Yes," he said, propping himself on his elbow again, "I've been around for about a thousand years without your delicious blood, my dear, but I will forgo it if necessary, for the sake of the baby," he said with a humble bow of his head. Then his eyes glowed as he raised his head up again, and he said, "I love you, Sookie Stackhouse."

"I love you too, Eric Northman," I said in return. Then I playfully said, "You know what the difference is between you and me is?"

"Oh, _this_ should be good, what?" he said returned, taking up the challenge.

"I love you more."

"Not possible-I love you more!"

This sparked a heated debate that ended in us proving physically who loved whom more. If asked, I would have to say that we ended up declaring it a tie—with both of us dead tired from the "argument."

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for the lovely comments. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Things will start getting interesting in the next couple chapters. I changed the rating to M due to the nature of this chapter.


	7. Chapter 6 Sookie & the Doctor

**Chapter 6 Sookie & the Doctor**

I woke that morning with the sunlight in my face and an urgent need to get to the toilet as fast as possible. I worshipped the porcelain god for a good ten minutes before feeling that I'd be puking my toes up if anything else came out of me. After breathing in a few good deep breaths, I brushed my teeth and took and shower. After the shower, I brushed my teeth again—just for good measure. I hope this morning sickness wouldn't last for very long. I came back into my room from the bathroom to find that Eric, true to character, had left me a little note on the pillow next to mine. It read:

"_My dear lover,_

_I hope everything goes well with the doctor today._

_Ask her about the blood and why you taste so good._

_I took the liberty of camping in your "hidey-hole"_

_as you like to call it. I wanted to see you again before_

_going back to Fangtasia this evening._

_E_

_PS I love you more!"_

I got dressed and glanced over at my Gran's old clock radio that I had gotten for her for Christmas about 10 years ago. She had really liked that clock radio because it woke you up to your favorite music from a CD. It was the latest technology at the time, and now you could get clock radios that made you coffee in the morning too! I jumped back in shock at how late it was, 3 p.m. on the dot. Thank goodness my house was clean.

I made my bed up and walked to the kitchen to get a little orange juice and as soon as I poured it, the smell hit me and I almost threw up again in the kitchen sink. I put the glass in the sink and went to the living room and sat down and breathed in deeply through my nose and out through my mouth in a calming fashion like before. That seemed to help.

"That was very good," said Dr. Ludwig suddenly standing next to me. I shrieked and jumped about a foot in the air.

"Hello," I said with a racing heart, "I wasn't expecting you to just appear like that."

"Well, I said three and I meant three. I always keep my appointments. Now, where would you like to be examined?"

"My room would be the best. Right this way. Can I get you anything to drink? Iced tea or lemonade?"

"Nothing for me thanks, I never drink on the job," she said deadpan, but with a wink. I never could tell if she was joking with me or not, so I decided to stay on the safe side of politeness and just nod with a small smile.

I led her down the hall to my bedroom and folded my bedspread back and climbed on the bed so that I was lying just on my fitted bed sheet. I had of course had been to a regular human doctor for a full examination before, so I was kind of expecting the same thing. But, with Dr. Ludwig, I've come to realize to expect the unexpected.

She began by examining each hand like a palm reader would, jotting notes down in a journal as she went. She paid particular attention to my finger nails.

"You've ingested a lot of vampire blood from Eric recently. It shows in your fingernails, like rings in a tree. I don't know that you can detect it with human eyes, but it is plain to any supe. It looks like last time you ingested, at the clinic, was about as much as your little body could handle without turning."

I gulped. Turning into a vampire was the last thing I wanted. Correction—I _**NEVER**_ wanted to be turned into a vampire.

"Eric is old enough to be able to tell. You know he could turn you at any time that he wanted to, don't you?"

"Yes. I've heard that before. I've told him I don't want to and he's said he won't without my say so."

"Well, right now, you have the best of both worlds."

"How do you mean?"

"You are part Fae, so you won't age like a normal human. Anyone with any Fae in them will age in pretty much the same way as any other Fae once they reach their full growth. Of course, you have so much human in you, that you are susceptible to other human medical traits like obesity, disease, and so forth, and you are able to be killed just as easily as any other human. Being part Fae pretty much only disguises your age and makes you more attractive to the other supe species…especially the vampires."

"Well, that explains why I don't look much different than I did at the end of high school. Neither does Jason. I should probably tell him too."

"Yes you should share _all _your history with Jason. He might begin to wonder when he's fifty why he's still looking as young as he did at twenty. You might have to explain to humans around here why you aren't as old and wrinkled as they are, at least now you can pass it off as a side benefit of another species. Now let's get back to examining you."

She took my feet and gave them a thorough going over as well. It tickled and I had a hard time not laughing. She took out her stethoscope and listened to my heart rate and checked out all my arteries to make sure blood was flowing properly, I guess. Not that I was looking forward to it, but I was expecting an exam down below. I haven't read much or been around pregnant women very often—only Tara really, but I think they have a pelvic at some point during the pregnancy. I asked Dr. Ludwig as much.

"No, that's very invasive and it really doesn't tell me as much as I can get from my other exams. I can glean more information from hands, feet, and nails as I can get anywhere. I am going to listen to your belly for the heart beat. You are almost far enough to hear one, would you like to hear?"

"Yes definitely," I said. Wow, was this exciting, to hear my baby's heart for the first time. I wish I could share it with Eric.

She put the Doppler device on my stomach with a whole bunch of cold slippery goo. She turned the machine on and I could hear a crackling noise like a mistuned radio. Then all of the sudden, swish-swish, swish-swish went the little machine. I began to cry. I had never heard anything so beautiful. She moved the machine to a totally different spot and I heard the same noise again. I asked why.

"Well, you have at least one more little baby in there," said Dr. Ludwig matter-of-factly.

"Huh? Twins?"

"Triplets, here's another, listen."

I listened as I heard another swish-swish, swish-swish sound. I felt like the bottom fell out of me. Triplets? One little cute baby, I could handle, but financially, how could I handle triplets? My house wasn't big enough for three children.

"Oh boy," I said. Well there was yet another OSM to chalk up in my personal history book.

"Like I said before, get a couple books for humans as you will have the a similar gestation period and don't fret about being pregnant with multiples. Other mothers have gone through this with far less care than you have. Remember you have that vampire who will take care of you too."

"Yes you're right. That reminds me, he took some of my blood last night and he was really upset that I tasted "stronger" of Fae than I normally do. He wanted me to ask you why, and I also want to know what the rules are on him blood exchanges between us."

"Well, except for having too much of his blood in you right now, you are fine with taking his blood if need be. He'll know how much is too much. I am going to run some tests on you right now to see, among other things, why you are stronger tasting." She took some blood and poured it in a little vial, took a small eye dropper and placed a piece of it on the paper. It turned a bluish color.

"Are you sure that you were with a were?"

"Yes that is what he said, why? What does the color mean?"

"The color, on my chart here indicates that these babies are about half Fae."

"Fifty percent Fae? How can that be, since I am only one-eighth Fae, " I said. "What percentage were does it indicate?"

"None."

"Oh," I said softly. I didn't know what to say. My thoughts began to wander from Preston being the father to my having been raped by Thing 2 during my torture, but I don't remember anything like that happening since they were so interested in fucking each other.

As if answering my unspoken thought, Dr. Ludwig spoke, "I checked you for signs of rape after you were attacked during the Faery War. I saw none. No penetration at all, besides you are farther along than that anyway. A December 24th, or thereabouts, conception date puts you at about six or seven weeks along right now. And the fact that you are pregnant with triplets and the blood incident with Eric, as well as the blood test I just ran all indicate that the father of your babies was not a were, but rather a Faery."

"But I saw him change. He told me the name of his pack and the name of the other pack and there were other weres that came to my house and looked for him."

"Hmmm, I wonder…You said his name was…?" Dr. Ludwig asked curiously.

"Preston. Preston Pardloe," I said.

"Ah-ha! That explains it. I treated him once, during an incident involving a gnome and a fishing rod—very ugly scene, but I digress. He was the only Faery I knew that could change himself to mimic another species. Just like every vampire has a special talent, so does every Faery and his talent was mimicking shifters. If I recall correctly," she said looking very thoughtful, "he was a favorite of your great-grandfather."

I was having an OSM here. Was she telling me that my great grandfather pimped out his buddy to show me a good time? Was that his Christmas present to me? Or was he trying to get me to carry a Faery child to increase the stock…was I a brood mare? Before I knew what I was saying, I blurted out, "FUCKING FAERIES!!!"

The doctor had the good graces to laugh off my lapse in good Southern-Belle manners—thank god! I apologized profusely and begged her to keep me as a patient if I could stop my random outbreak of Tourette's Syndrome. Again, she simply laughed at me. Apparently, I am the single source of amusement for the supe world!

"I will see you once every three weeks at the same time and place to check your progress. If Eric can control himself, he is more than welcome to a small amount of your blood—but _only a small amount_, you need your blood for the _babies_. You may in turn take just a little of his as he determines is _safe_. I trust him as far as that goes—he's so old he knows what he's doing. Watch your lemon and iron intake. Don't ingest any if you can help it, but don't fret if you do. It only causes damage in large doses. Otherwise eat lots of food, eat like a cow—lots of greens—and drink a lot of whole milk too. Do you have any other questions?"

I shook my head no and poof she left. I was so excited that I wanted to call Eric right away, but it was only 4:30 p.m. and he wouldn't be awake for another two hours. I decided that I would contact my brother and some friends to tell them all my good news.

* * *

**A/N:**Sorry to post so late in the day, but I was working a couple of chapters ahead of the game...I can't wait to post the one I just wrote, but it won't be for a couple days yet...keep posting those comments, I love them all!


	8. Chapter 7 Sookie Calls Everyone

**Chapter 7 Sookie calls Everyone**

**Jason**

The first call of the day was to my brother, Jason. I called his home phone and got the answering machine, so I just left a message to give me a call to hear some good news. I got up to go to the bathroom and on my way out, the phone rang and it was Jason on the other end.

Jason and I hadn't been on really wonderful terms for quite a while now--ever since I had to smash his uncle-in-law Calvin's fingers with a brick in retaliation for his now-dead wife's infidelities. After Crystal died, and I got so badly injured, we'd sort of made a tentative truce. I think his meeting Naill and talking with him helped our relationship a little bit. I was hoping that this didn't hinder it too much. After all, he would have been a dad soon if Crystal hadn't been killed.

"Hello?" I said in the phone.

"You called?" Jason said back snarkily.

"Yes, Jason, are you sitting down? I have some news," I waited for a response.

"Sookie, I am a little old to have to sit down for news, just tell me what it is. Are you knocked up or something? Oh, wait you can't be since you are sleeping with the undead."

"Jackass! Look, do you want me to tell you or not!" I demanded. For God's sake, does he even care to hear? Do I even want to tell him?

"Yes, sorry, hard day at work. I didn't mean to take it out on you sis. Go ahead."

"Guess what?"I asked playing with him a little bit.

"Just tell me, already Sook"

"Well, you were right and I am getting married to Eric," I said gushing with excitement.

"What? Right? Right about being pregnant? Who's the," he said while I listened to him mental gears grind this one out, "who's the father? Is Eric the father? Can that happen? I thought that couldn't happen—Jesus Sookie, you're getting' married too? To Eric? Any he's not the father and he wants the baby?" I love to flummox my brother. It isn't particularly hard.

I responded, "Yes, I am getting married to Eric, no date set yet, and I am pregnant. There's one more thing…" I started to say, but then he cut me off.

"What did you shave yourself bald and join a cult too?" he asked, returning my playfulness.

"Yes, I will be packing up all my things and leaving in the morning for Cult School!" I sneered sarcastically. "No, I am having triplets. You are going to be an uncle thrice." (Word of the day)

There was a considerable silence while Jason weighed what he was going to say next. Finally, he said softly, "Wow Sookie, married to a vampire and having three babies at once. Sis, you amaze me! I don't know how you do it, but if you need any help, and I know we've been at each other's throats lately, but if you need help with anything—except diaper changing—I'm there for you. I love you little sister."

"I l-l-l-love you t-t-too big brother. Always have and always will, no matter what." I sputtered out unsuccessfully holding back an emotional outburst. Ugh! Hormones times three!

* * *

Well, one down and 5 to go.

**Sam**

After calming myself for a few minutes and drinking a glass of water, I decided to call Sam. I wasn't sure how he was going to take this. I secretly always thought that Sam had a thing for me. He was always trying to get me away from Eric's "vampire shit," so I was thinking that this might be the worst thing in the world for him to hear. I dialed.

"Hello Merlotte's," said a familiar voice on the first ring.

"Hey Sam! It's me, Sookie. Can I talk to you for a minute, both as a friend and as an employee?"

"Sure, always, chere!"

"Well, you know how I kind of accidentally married Eric in a vampire ceremony that I wasn't told about?" I thought I heard a growl from the other end of the phone.

"Yes, it sickens me to the core to hear you are tied to the vamp world like that. You know if there was something that I could do to get you out, I would."

Now I was getting a little ticked. "Sam, I just wanted to tell you that I am getting married to Eric for real, as in legally recognized by the great State of Louisiana. And that's not even the most exciting thing to have happen," I said as pleasantly, yet intriguingly as possible. I waited for a response, but got none, so I carried on "I am pregnant...with triplets...and no they aren't Eric's," I spoke fast and shut my eyes imagining what was going through his mind—again I could almost hear the brain cogs working overtime.

"Oh chere, you are such a trouble magnet!" he said. I felt that he was rolling his eyeballs at me. Then he surprised me by chuckling sarcastically, "Well, you certainly made your bed on this one didn't you! I guess you are going to have to lay in it, but as always, I'm here for you—best wishes to you and Eric for the wedding and for the babies."

"I thought you were going to be more standoffish to the marriage thing."

"It's your life, chere. I'm still your friend if that's what you mean," he said sounding a bit glum. Well, I couldn't help it if I was in love with someone else. I felt bad that it could be him, but that's life! He's gonna have to suck it up and deal with it!

"Yeah, Sam. That's what I mean. I mean, I know you don't like Eric and I know you have some feelings for me more than friendship and I know that I want you to understand that I care for you too, but more like my older brother," I said hoping that he would understand how I have always regarded him.

"I know, I know, chere. I can't help how I feel about you. I think I'll always feel more for you than I should—more than you want me too, but you've obviously made your decision," he said matter-of-factly, "and I respect that. Are you going to be at work tomorrow?" he said, changing the subject abruptly.

"Yes of course, why?"

"I just thought that you might not be coming to work anymore because of the babies. You're pretty much having a litter-"

I cut him off, "Sam!!! I AM NOT HAVING A LITTER! Don't you _ever_ say that again!"

"Calm down chere, I was just teasing you,"

"All right,-fine, I'm sorry I overreacted," I said.

"I do want to know what Dr. Ludwig says about your working and having a lit- I mean a multiple birth. You are seeing Dr. Ludwig, right?" he asked in all seriousness. My friend had disappeared and my boss took his place.

"Yes, but I didn't ask her that, but when I see her next time and I will put it on my list of things to ask," I said. "I am coming to work tomorrow, of course. I have every intention of working until the due date, or until the doctor tells me I am not supposed to anymore."

"What if Eric tells you that you can't work anymore," challenged Sam.

"I'll tell him he can go hang himself!" I shot back.

"Good for you Sookie!" Sam said. I could hear his grin beaming over the phone line. _Easy for you to say_. I thought. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sookie."

"See you then Sam."

* * *

So far so good, now on to the next one.

**Amelia**

It was now approaching 5:30 p.m. I hadn't expected to be on the phone for almost an hour with two calls, but I wanted to tell a few more people before I told Eric about the triplets. I honestly didn't know how Amelia would take this news. I still felt guilty, and I truly believe that deep down she blamed me for Tray's death. I know she hadn't been seeing him for very long, but I think he could very well have been her "one." And now he wasn't anyone's "one," and now I was in tears about how much life really truly sucked. How could I broach the subject? Would I say, _"Hello Amelia, sorry about the possible-love-of-your-life dying in my defense, hope you're over it, by the way I am fine now, mostly healed, engaged and having triplets?"_ Yup, I think that would be the best thing to say-NOT! I decided to just make the call and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe I wouldn't tell her about the engagement, or maybe…Oh hell! I took a deep breath and dialed.

"Hello," answered a man's voice.

"Hello, this is Sookie Stackhouse, I am a friend of Amelia's," I began.

"AMELIA!" I heard through a muffled receiver.

"Got it, Dad," said Amelia's voice in the receiver, then, "Hello?"

"Hi, Amelia, it's Sookie," I said as nicely as I knew how.

"Hi Sookie. How is everything with you? Is everyone doing well?"

"Yes everyone is doing well. Things are getting back to normal and I am going back to work at Merlotte's and Jason's been nicer to me since…" I let my voice trail off.

"Since the Faery War," continued Amelia, not missing a beat. "You can talk about it with me. I am feeling better—I mean I am still really sad about losing Tray—but I am feeling better each day, the more distance is between me and the funeral," she explained stoically.

"Are you going to come back to the house?"

"I think I need a bit more time on that subject, but I might at least come back to Bon Temps. I like the peaceful life there, and by that I mean," and she whispered the next part, "I'm not under Daddy's Big Thumb," and then she continued in a normal voice. "But I'm not sure I can live in your house any more. There are too many memories there. Of course, many are good, but there are a few bad ones, too. We'll see."

"I'm glad you'll come back, at least to Bon Temps. I kind of needed to talk to you about something, and I wasn't sure how to bring it up. Can I tell you some news about me?"

"Always."

"Gossipy news?"

"Yes."

"You won't get mad at me? Or take it the wrong way?"

"No, but if you don't spill you guts right now, I will cast a spell on you over the phone and make you tell, **NOW SPILL**!" And I knew at that point that everything was all right between us again.

"All right," I took a deep breath, "Here goes…" and I told her all about it, blow by blow. There was a lot of uh-huhing and mm-hmming, and a lot of encouragement to tell about the dirty bits, but I didn't go into detail—too much. It was so nice to have my friend back. I hadn't realized how much I missed her.

"And names? Have you thought of any names yet?" she said after carefully considering all the news. "And when is the wedding going to be? Will it be big? Will it be JOP?"

I laughed and said, "I don't know yet, about any of it. Eric knows I am having a baby, but he doesn't know that I am expecting TRIPLETS. I just found out today. Maybe he'll hear the news and decide finally that I really am too much trouble!"

"Never," soothed Amelia, "the vampire will still love you no matter what you do. You're stuck with him as much as he's stuck with you. Listen, I hate to cut this short," she said despite the fact that we'd been talking on the phone for 45 minutes already, "but I have an appointment to get to."

"Mani, or pedi?" I teased.

"Both-I've gotta get'em in while I'm in the city!—Later alligator"

"Bye crocodile."

* * *

6:15 p.m. Eric was probably just stirring…but I had to call Tara!

**Tara**

Ring, Ring, Ring... _"Hello, you've reached 555-0782, no one is available to take your call right now, please leave a message after the beep,"_ **BEEP!**

"Umm, hello Tara and JP," I had forgotten they were out of town on vacation for the week, "I don't know how long I have to talk, so here goes…in a nutshell, I am marrying Eric, and I am pregnant with triplets and they aren't his and give me a ca-" **BEEP!**

"Damn it all to hell, I hate answering machines that cut me off!" I shouted out loud to no one.

* * *

6:20 p.m. and making some good time.

**Bill**

I fully expected Bill's answering machine. He was a young vampire and didn't get up until the sun had gone all the way down.

Ring, Ring, Ring… "_Hello, you've reached the phone of William Compton, please leave me a message,"_ at least Bill's phone was his own voice and not the mechanical voice from Tara's, but it was very cold and aloof sounding. **BEEP!**

"Hey Bill, it's Sookie. I have news to tell you about Eric and I, and I wanted to tell you before he did, in any sort of official capacity. We are getting married and to top it all off, I'm pre-" **BEEP!**

"FUCKING MACHINES!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I really hoped it wasn't still recording, or I'd feel pretty stupid about swearing on both Bill's and machine. Oops!

* * *

6:25 p.m. I decided to make myself a cup of hot chocolate and make sure that Pam had enough time to freshen up after rising for the night, before she had to answer the phone.

**Pam**

I called Pam's cell phone number and got her voice mail. I left a short number for her to call me so I could give her some news to tease Eric about when she saw him.

* * *

While I was washing up in the kitchen and preparing a late supper, I waited for Pam to call me back. I wanted to speak to her before trying Eric's cell to see when he was going to be able to make it back here tonight. I was drying a plate when behind me a voice said, "Hello lover."

I dropped the dish and screamed simultaneously. I turned around and saw him standing there…

* * *

**A/N: **This isn't my favorite chapter...but hang in there gang! It's going to get a little better soon...


	9. Chapter 8 Eric Scares Sookie

**Chapter 8 Eric Scares Sookie Half to Death!**

_While I was washing up in the kitchen and preparing a late supper, I waited for Pam to call me back. I wanted to speak to her before trying Eric's cell to see when he was going to be able to make it back here tonight. I was drying a plate when behind me a voice said, "Hello lover."_

_I dropped the dish and screamed simultaneously. I turned around and saw him standing there…_

* * *

"What are you…How did you…When did you…" I sputtered between breaths.

"Didn't you get my note, lover?" Eric asked chuckling plaintively.

"The note," I said, slapping my forehead with my palm a la V-8 commercials, "The note, yes I got the note. You practically gave me a heart attack! I had forgotten that you stayed in the hidey-hole today." I smiled at him and got the broom out and handed it to him. "Sweep," I ordered him. And sweep he did. It was quite a change from the last time I saw him holding a broom. I got the dustpan and together we cleaned up the broken plate. It was all very domestic, I thought, and it gave me a warm feeling. Another warm feeling was passed back to me through the bond.

Eric stood there smiling with a devilish grin on his face.

"Why are you smiling at me?" I queried.

"Aren't I allowed to smile at my dear one?" he shot back, gathering me in his arms and drawing me into a smoldering kiss.

"Yes, but there is a certain amount of _cheese_ in that grin of yours, what's up?"

"I was just thinking about how much you've been swearing."

Well, I was floored. Swearing? Me? I never swear…oh… "When was I swearing?" I asked.

"When you called your friend Tara and when you called Bill."

"You were spying on me?"

"I overheard and was interested in what you were telling them. When were you going to tell me?"

"I was waiting for you to get here, so I could tell you and-" I began, when he swooped me up in another hot-and-ready kiss. I was oblivious to the fact that he'd flown us down the hall from the kitchen into my bedroom until I was half naked on the bed.

"You were saying lover," he coaxed.

I began again, telling him about my day, while fighting to stay coherent with all the fantastic pleasures he was treating my body to. As I began to recount what the doctor was saying, his fingers darted into my middle making me gasp with delight mid-sentence. I stopped talking and started enjoying…

"Go on," he demanded. I was beginning to think that my naughty vampire wanted me to talk all the way through it, like it was some new game. Well, two can play at that! I kept on talking, closing my eyes periodically to think of all the details.

"Keep your eyes open, lover, and watch me," he commanded.

_Okay,_ I thought, _make up your mind_, so I stopped talking. Just at that point his tongue was exploring my-"Oooh!" I gasped, blushing. Then it was out again.

"Sookie, what else did the doctor tell you," he said again smiling at the way he can play me like a master and his instrument.

"Eric, I can't talk—oh!—and look—mmh!—at—OH!—YOU!—at the same—time as—ERIC!" I screamed incoherently. My lower region thumped rhythmically as I reached my first of the evening's climaxes. I wanted him inside me so badly and I told him so. Immediately his face was hovering over mine and the tip of his magnificent shaft was touching my entrance. He bent down and kissed me hard, but never entered.

I was insane with anticipation, when suddenly he stopped kissing me, rolled off to the side and said very calmly, "Lover, I am waiting…what else did the doctor say?"

I sat there panting for a good minute and a half just staring at him wide-eyed and incredulous. He'd worked me up to a frenzied state and then had the nerve to lay there next to me, stroking my torso up and down lazily with one rogue finger, all the while passing his horniness through the bond to me, and expected me to "talk" with him!

I was so exasperated that I leaned over, grabbed a pillow that had fallen on the floor and socked him in the face with it, roaring with anger. He roared back with laughter (also felt through the bond) and I giggled too—I couldn't help myself. "Now that you've gotten that out of your system, would you please tell me what the doctor said about the blood?"

Oh boy! I had come to terms with Preston's true identity, but I didn't know if Eric would be able to or not. I braced myself. "You're nervous. I overheard you say that you are having triplets. That's a challenge, but I am here for you. We'll get through this, lover, it isn't anything to be nervous about."

I began to tear up, "Eric," I said stoically, "the were I was with that night, told me he was from the Deer Killer pack south of Baton Rouge."

"I've never heard of that pack."

"Well, I don't think it exists. He lied to me."

"Lied to you?" questioned Eric methodically. I could see the wheels turning in his head for a moment. "What was his name?" he said finally.

I gulped, "Preston Pardl-"

"Preston Pardloe? That _FUCKING_ Faery! I'll kill him! I'll hunt him down and kill him slowly!" Shouted Eric and through the bond I felt that statement, and it was wrought with betrayal and jealousy and hate and revenge and myriad other dark emotions.

"Do you know him?" I asked.

"He and I—well it's a long story," and he mumbled something about what sounded like a gnome, and then said more clearly, "Let's just say he double crossed me, and leave it at that. I learned that he can mask his sent like your great grandfather can. He can also assume identities of another species. That's how he fooled you into thinking he was a were."

"And I fell for it like a simpleton. I don't feel bad about you saying you'd like to kill him. I'd like render him a serious injury myself. He slept with me under false pretenses and I am really _SICK_ and tired of men sleeping with me under false pretenses!"

He shot me a questioning look like he was sleeping with me under false pretenses too. Could he? Nah!—I wiped the thought from my head.

"Not you, baby, but Bill did and then Preston did. Fifty-fifty is not an impressive track record, is it. Dr Ludwig said that he's an associate of my great grandfather, so I am not sure what to think of that. He probably went to Faery before the gates closed and none of us will ever see him again. Talk about being a dead beat dad. Good riddance!"

This calmed Eric down a bit enough to ask again about what the doctor had said about the blood. "Just don't get carried away and don't take too much, and I can take some of yours when I am allowed. Ludwig said that you'd know how much is too much, so to take it easy on that too," I said. "So, any time you are ready, you can bite me and fuck me and rub me all over!" I paraphrased back to him.

Eric didn't need any encouragement to begin again, now that he had the green light to take some blood. He was timid and cautious and took just a little drop of blood from my breast as he passed by it, but it acted like catnip, and caused enough crazy passion between both of us since I was becoming more and more insatiable with the pregnancy, even in the early stage I was in. We both came together hard and fast, and enjoyed each other many times during the night until I was about to collapse. He could have pushed on until dawn! Vampires!

In our usual post-coital (Word of the Day) chit-chat session, I told him that I needed to get to sleep because I was working tomorrow and Merlotte's.

"I will not have my wife working in a sleazy two-bit bar."

"I'm not your wife yet (vampire bride notwithstanding) and I will be working until the babies come or until the doctor says I am not allowed to. You will _not_ tell me _not_ to work-HUSBAND or NOT!" I roared.

"Don't get so riled up about it Sookie! My lover, now you are awake again and full of energy. What should we do to calm you down so you can sleep?" asked Eric. I felt his regret at bringing the work topic up, so I played along with it.

"Let's talk about names for the babies. We'll need three of each," I said.

"Freya for a girl and Thor for a boy," he offered up like he'd thought about it before. I rolled my eyeballs, although Freya was pretty, but Thor? Thor Northman? Seriously?

"I was thinking of family names a little. How about Corbett, Hale, or Leif for boys names?"

"Leif?" he asked in a curious tone.

"Yes, you called yourself that when you were incognito in Dallas and at Club Dead, why?" I pondered.

"It just amused me as a choice, that's all. What do you have in mind for little girl names?" he gave up as a reason. Well, I mentally jotted that down in my place where I store questions to ask Eric at some point. Could Leif be his real na--, nah! I put the thought out again.

"Oh, Adele of course, that's a must, and Claudine is a must as well, and then maybe Scarlett. What do you think of those?"

"They certainly are a bunch of eclectic names. So tell me, my lover, when we are married will you be a modern woman?"

I roared with laughter with that one. I was already very modern, I worked, I took care of myself—then I realized what he meant. "Do you want to know if I will remain Sookie Stackhouse, or if I will take your name?"

"Yes, Sookie Northman, that's exactly what I was wondering."

I blushed a little at him saying it, but it really did sound right to me. I guess that was a traditional part of me that he didn't have to fight me about. "Yes, I will be Sookie Northman as soon as I say—I do. And when might that be?"

"Shh lover, you need your sleep. Go to sleep dreaming of your wedding and tell me about it tomorrow. I love you Sookie Northman to be."

"I love you too you big Viking!" And with that, I dozed off into a very happy dreamland.

* * *

**A/N: **For those of you reading in a different country, V-8 is a vegetable juice blend. Very salty, but quite good. There was a commercial in the 1980s where people said they "shoulda hadda V-8" instead of doing what they were doing. As they said it, they slapped their foreheads. It's purely an American colloquialism. Just thought you'd like to know.


	10. Chapter 9 Naill & the Gate

**Chapter 10 Niall and the Gate**

**Third Person Narrative**

Niall Brigant, now the Prince of all Faeries, had set the date to close the final portal between the human world and the Faery realm. This was set for St. Patrick's Day, March 17th, a day that was important for the Faeries and the Irish alike, since most of the Fae lived in Ireland. This gave him about a month to take care of most of the business he needed to get done. There would still be some things that needed seeing to after the portal was _officially_ closed, but he and Preston would take care of that.

"Have you talked to the Weretiger?" he said to Preston as they smoked a couple Cubans in the treetops near Sookie's house.

Preston gave him a devious look. He knew the plan and focused on his reward once he got to Faery for good. He had driven rather a hard bargain with Naill, who reluctantly agreed to his reward demands. It was a bargain; however, that Naill, for all his power as Prince couldn't walk away from.

Preston answered, "Yes Your Highness, the weretiger is all set up and primed to do it. It wasn't hard to convince him the first time, or the second, or this time. He's so besotted with her he just can't help himself. I can't say that I blame him. She's quite a catch in so many different worlds and the beauty of it all is that she just doesn't know it."

Nail smiled at the praise for his great-grandchild. Yes, she was indeed a catch and an asset. Any female with any amount of Fae blood these days was worth her weight in gold ten times over. And triplets to boot! He'd listen in on the doctor's visit this afternoon to make sure the pregnancy was going well. He truly did love Sookie, she was his kin after all, and he hoped that she would willingly make the right choice, when the time came, to live in Faery with the children. He hoped he wouldn't have to break her heart by separating them from her, but Faery babies—even part Faery babies—weren't exactly a dime a dozen. He slipped out of his reverie to speak again, "Tell me more details about Quinn and the plan."

"Well, Your Highness," began Preston, "he doesn't know he's kidnapping her because he's been fed so much bullshit by me that he actually thinks he's _rescuing_ her from Eric. Eric is the one being that can keep her from us, and I have been making sure that he stays as much out of her life as possible. Feeding Quinn that information about the _poor_ _invalid_ Queen Sophie-Anne caused the whole vampire take-over of Louisiana and kept Eric busy for so many months—busy and away from our Sookie-"

"MY Sookie. Let me remind you that she's MY great-granddaughter. She's MY kin and no matter what hold you have over me, you ALWAYS keep that in your mind Preston. ALWAYS!" barked Naill angrily. Preston might have a hold over him, but he wasn't going to let him forget his family ties.

Preston ignored Naill's little outburst. Was Prince Naill getting senile in his old age? He continued, "Many apologies Your Highness. That Goddamn vampire ruined my last plan. I still don't know how Eric convinced his new superiors to allow him to keep Quinn away from Sookie, and she seemed to go along with it. Quinn almost had her convinced to hear him out after I snuck him back into "_ERIC's TERRITORY_," Preston said sneeringly with his fingers up in the air making the quotation mark signs. He took another drag on his cigar and tapped the ashes off the end with a skilled finger and continued, "Quinn was going to tell her a _lovely_ little tale, about her precious Eric, but he got sappy and emotional toward her and blew it. Then Bill Compton came by and picked a fight with him. Then low and behold, who should appear to save the day, but the meddlesome Viking who flew in to sweep her off her feet _yet again_! Oh well," said Preston disdainfully, adding with a wave of his hand in the air, "I'm not giving up quite yet…there's too much at stake." _Too much for Faery and too much for me._ He thought to himself.

Naill looked at Preston out of the corner of his eye. He knew the stakes all too well. After the Faery War, there was too much of a decrease in population. Fae women, no matter how little Fae they had in them had become a hot commodity as breeding stock and his Sookie with her added bonus of telepathy would be even more highly prized—and she would be bringing in three more children to pass his legacy onto.

Naill felt surely that he'd succeeded in tearing Eric and Sookie apart when he convinced Eric to suppress the bond. He kicked himself for not trying to kill the vampire on the spot, but he had such a soft spot for his little Sookie that he knew she'd be devastated by Eric's death. He'd done the next best thing—but it backfired. Now, not only was the bond back but stronger than ever, but—married? Did he hear right? They were getting married? Their separation was going to be tougher to accomplish than he thought.

Preston interrupted Naill's introspection again. "It's always Eric," he said open-endedly.

"What is always Eric," said Naill stifling a yawn. He was getting tired of this tree top sitting night after night.

"The Problem. The problem has always been Eric. Why can't he just leave her alone? Thank God she was free of him enough to bring me into her home on Christmas Eve. I thought for sure that would have staked my—I mean _our_—claim to Sookie once and for all. Then the _Problem_ goes and forgives her. She's got a power over him," he said out loud, and to himself, _over me too._

"Well, a few more weeks of planning and then we can make our move and put our grand plan into action."

"I'll be glad when it's done, Your Highness."

"Me too, Preston, me too."

* * *

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters, I'm just having some fun with them and thank Charlaine Harris to allow us all to play!

A/N: This story will have an ending at some point, about 10-20 more chapters. A couple characters will come back...


	11. Chapter 10 How Eric Spent the Evening

**Chapter 10 How Eric Spent the Evening**

**Eric POV**

**A/N:** I thought I should try my hand at Eric's POV. Everyone else on this site seems to have tried it. Anyway, Eric had a couple thoughts he wanted to share with you, so here goes.

* * *

"_Do you want to know if I will remain Sookie Stackhouse, or if I will take your name?"_

"_Yes, Sookie Northman, that's exactly what I was wondering."_

* * *

Sookie Northman. She wanted to take my last name. I thought for sure she'd have one of her stubborn moments like she has. I thought that would be a sticking point, but I thought wrong. I was thrilled to be back in her life again. She wanted me now, willingly, she had yielded to me, before, twice from my point of view, since I got to _experience the first time with her,_ again after so many months of denying me. At the time I thought the experience was the best thing I had ever encountered in my 1000 year existence. But it all paled in comparison to her finally revealing her true feelings for me. Her feelings that came tumbling back into our dormant blood bond. That was pure ecstasy.

OH! Just thinking of that made me want to take her now, and make her scream my name all night long, but I decided to hold off and let her and those little ones sleep. I sat and smoothed her hair while she slept. I'd give anything to know what that pretty little head was dreaming about. Probably baby names and wedding stuff, or something li-

"Eric" she said coherently, but her eyes were still shut.

"Yes, my lover," I whispered soothingly, still stroking my finger lazily down her body slowly and then back up again. I loved watching the goose bumps that formed as I traced; like a boat leaving a wake on a smooth lake.

"ERIC!" she said again with a face screwing up in a worried expression. I could feel some tension flow through the bond, and then it ebbed again.

"Shh, shh, shh," I said like I was calming a baby. That made me chuckle a little bit. I was going to be a father again—a father of three tiny little children. I knew they weren't mine, but by God they'd know _me_ as their father. Then my thoughts turned ugly.

* * *

I could picture myself meeting Preston—meeting him and capturing him. I could never let Sookie know, she'd probably make me turn him loose with a warning, no matter what she said about wanting to "do him an injury." She just didn't have it in her to harm a fly unless it was a life and death situation.

I thought again about what I'd do after I captured him. First I'd—oh hell! Who was I trying to kid? He was a pure Faery. He'd unmask his sent like he did the last time I caught him, when I thought he was a gnome. Damn him! I generally don't hate gnomes, but to this day I can't stand the site of them after what I went through with Preston in disguise. I'd caught him then two, what was it? Two hundred years ago? Oh yes…right around the time of the revolution in France.

The French Revolution was the acme of living for the vampire, until the Great Reveal. The Revolutionaries were giving away bodies, the streets swam with blood, and the atmosphere was like Mardi Gras every single night. That's part of the reason I settled in this part of the country with all the French. It was on the boat over here that I'd met _Earl_, the gnome. He was an Englishman who'd been pressed into service on a private French sailing ship that I'd booked passage on to get to the fledgling United States. I was doing fairly well financially, for a change, and I thought that post-revolutionary America would have a lot of new business ventures to get into, under a pseudonym or two, of course.

America, at that time, was not what I had thought it would be, so I headed west from the Port of Charleston through the forest of what are now the states of South Carolina, and Georgia, and along the coast line through Alabama, and Mississippi, to the Port of New Orleans to seek fortune in the Mississippi shipping industry. I can still remember the nutty flavor of the remaining native tribes I enjoyed feeding upon on my way through. Delicious! Now where was I? Oh yes, Preston.

I befriended Preston, or rather Earl, and hired him to be my daytime servant. He was willing and able and looked the part with his short stature, white hair and beard, and his dark twinkling eyes. I should have know he wasn't a gnome because his voice was smooth and not gruff like a gnome's usually is, but I was desperate for another supe to look after my daytime ventures. It was much harder back then to find a good daytime man, so I took what I could get. We were great friends, I thought, for about fifty years until I traveled back to Europe with him, for a business venture

We traveled to France first to visit some old friends, and then to England were my presence was required to form a new company that would make and sell quality chinaware to the wealthy families in the United States. That's where I met my Pam. I saw her and she had such a spirit and such energy—not unlike my angel next to me. I wanted her. I took her. She was mine. Earl knew nothing of her for the first few nights as I had sent him on to Worcester to sign my name in my stead. Once he'd brought back the documents, I told him that we'd have company for the trip home. He wasn't angry at first, but I think he became jealous after hearing us night after night, moaning and enjoying each other. We sailed from Southampton to New York on a steamer ship that was crowded and noisy and tensions flared. Once we docked, we—Pam and I—settled in New York for a year or two, feasting on unsuspecting starlets and debutants. Earl chose to live in separate quarters, though nearby as he was still working for me.

One night, I caught him making moves on Pam. I don't know what would have possessed her to entertain him in that way, except for her sense of humor and insatiable curiosity. Neither of them saw me, outside of the room. He was allowing her to bite him. She did and I watched her turn from an already voracious lover into a hellcat. I couldn't watch her anymore together with him. It was both disgusting me and turning me on at the same time. I flew away and confronted Earl later that evening. I would deal with Pam later.

Earl entered my house the next evening, at my invitation. I spoke to him about what I had seen.

"You were spying on me!" he spat with vengeance.

"Yes. And now I need to speak to you about what I saw," I said very calmly. I always find it best to speak calmly while interrogating, no matter how pissed off I am. "I need to know why Pam was so…hmmm…so _wild_ with you last night."

"Are you jealous?"

"Not really. I am more suspicious. You are not exactly her type," I began, but was cut off.

"And you are? Just because you are so big and strong and powerful, you think that you are God's gift to women. Don't you!" he sneered.

"Maybe not God's gift, but I can make a woman scream with pleasure—and I don't need to trick them into it," I retorted. "Now tell me what you did to Pam last night. What made her react to you that way?"

"None of your God damned business-vampire now get out of my way—I'm going home."

"Not so fast gnome!" I was in front of him before he'd even turned around. I should have snapped his neck right there. It would have saved me so much trouble now. Instead I was going to have some fun with him before I killed him. That was a mistake. I learn from my mistakes. They don't happen twice.

I grabbed a hold of him and tied him up with a golden fishing line—gnomes are notoriously allergic to gold, one of the rare species that are, and gnome magic can only be bound by a fishing line that's still connected to a rod. I had him bound in a chair and was all set to torture him and have some fun before I drained him. I made a moved toward him and he began to laugh at me. "What are you laughing at, you fool, you are about to die," I said to him. I didn't like the way him laughed.

"I am not going to die," he said. "You are."

Enraged, I decided to kill him then and there. I approached and the smell hit my like a ton of bricks. I went crazy almost instantly. Instead of wanting to kill this repulsive creature, I wanted to bite him. And I did. I bit him and he liked it. I bit him and bit him all over and he moaned in pleasure. "What are you doing to me!" I screamed at him in anger between pleasurable tastes of his blood. "What are you?!" I mumbled and I started to undress him and rub my body on his.

"What am I, or WHO am I?" he said between groans of ecstasy. "Earl isn't my name. Over to the left a little—aah! That's nice."

"Why are you doing this to me?!" I asked as I started, reluctantly, but compulsively nuzzling places I'd rather not recall.

"I rather think," he said smugly enjoying himself, "that YOU are doing THIS to ME! And I'm _loving_ every minute of it! Eric, I have _loved_ you and _wanted_ you since the day I met you. I have worked for you, slaved for you, done EVERYTHING for you. I have left my family and my kind just to be with you. Can't you feel it? Don't you want this too?" he begged.

"No. No. No! NO!" I shouted louder and louder with each _no_. "I don't want this…I never have. What kind of magic are you using to make me do this?!"

"Perhaps I can answer," said a voice from the shadows. A man stepped closer and reveled himself to have long blond hair and dazzling blue eyes. I'll never forget the eyes of the man that saved me. They were the same dazzling blue eyes of the women who slept next to me. Perhaps that's why I find so much comfort in her. Then the man spoke abruptly, "PRESTON!"

Earl, free from his constraints, stood up slowly and chagrinned. "Yes, Your Highness."

"We've been looking for you for quite a while now Preston," spoke the man in a gentle manner.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Naill Brigant, a Faery Prince," he said. "And this is Preston Pardloe, our young cousin—though the relationship is fortunately rather distant."

"But he's been with me for about fifty years, he's a gnome, how can he be a Faery?"

"Our young cousin here is a unique case. He has the ability to mask his scent, just like me, but he also can mimic other species as well. His talent comes in handy sometimes, but mostly he uses it to get himself into trouble. I am happy to repay you any damages you've suffered at his hands."

"No," I said as I watched Earl's body mutate into the blond-haired blue-eyed handsome Faery, Preston.

"But I must compensate you in some respect," said Naill the Faery.

"I'll take my compensation in kind at a later date then," I said, hoping I never had to deal with fucking fairies, or fucking Faeries again.

"Very well, we will take our leave of you now and go back to Faery. Come along Preston. You've got some explaining to do." And with that he took him by the ear. I knew they would go through a portal—I wasn't a total simpleton when it came to Faeries—so I took the fishing rod and shoved it up Preston's naked ass as far as I could while they were vanishing. He screamed something in Fae and abruptly his voice was cut off as the portal closed. Just before it closed; however, I swear I could hear Naill laughing!

* * *

"ERIC!"

I slipped out of my remembrance to see my dear one sitting bolt upright, panting—her eyes wide open though glazed. There wasn't much light in the room but I will never forget the look on her face as she screamed, "Eric where are you, come and save me! Please Eric! Please God, send Eric to me!"

"Sookie! Wake up!" I said to her. I couldn't stand this. I couldn't stand the fact that she had been rescued by Naill and Bill. I should have been there damn it! I should have been there. I grabbed a hold of her and held her tight. She immediately calmed down and mumbled, "Eric you came," and went back to sleep in my arms.

Well, at least I was there _this_ time, even if it was only in her dreams. I wanted her safe all the time. I want to protect her all the time. I wanted…I wanted her to move in with me?—to know that she was safe and protected. Well, we were getting married; she was taking my name, so surely she would want to live with me. She was so stubborn and so blind sometimes. I had to laugh. I had asked her before the Faery War, in a half assed fashion, to come and stay with me for her protection and she turned me down.

"Sookie you are so unpredictable!" I said softly to her. I'd find a way to make her want to come to my house. I'd guilt her into it if need be. I'll leave her a note again today and see if I see any results tomorrow tonight. I'd play on her heart strings a little bit, but it would be for her own good—my own good too!

"I love you Sookie Northman," I whispered into her ear. Then I lowered my face down to her belly and said, "I love you babies." I felt a surged of love bounce back through the bond. Was she feeling that in her sleep?

Oh, I hated to go, but work beckoned. Pam would be angry if I didn't show up. Besides, I had some news that she didn't have this time. I could tease her all night with it—that would be a amusing! So, with one final kiss on the lips, I left my pregnant little Sookie.

* * *

"My office," I said breezing past Pam as I walked into my club.

"Yes Master," she said looking curious. She couldn't tell if it was good news or bad.

When we got into the office I began, "Pam," I said gravely, "I have some news about Sookie and me."

"She said yes?" Pam said gleefully, clapping her hands together, "I'm going to throw her one of those wedding showers. When is the date? Oh this will be fu-what is it?"

She saw the feigned ashen look on my face.

"Did she refuse you? How could she do that? She loves you—you love her!"

So much for stringing this out all night, I caved and gave her a big smile, "You're so gullible, Pam," I told her. "Of course she said yes."

"Well, I didn't know if she would or not, you know Sookie. She's gets so funny about the little things sometimes. I wonder if she's going to be as fun now that she's gone all lovey-dovey for you."

I ignored that. If Sookie was lovey-dovey for me, AND it stopped Pam from teasing me all the time about her, then all the better. "Pamela, I have other news. Sookie called you, but you didn't answer and she left you a message to call. Can you guess what she wanted to tell you?"

"No."

"Take a guess," I commanded.

"Yes Master. I guess that she'll move in with you finally?"

"No, but I hope so. Two more chances."

"Do I win a prize if I'm right?"

"Yes you can go home for the evening with the fang banger of your choice."

"Oh goody," she replied in a dead-pan voice, "is she pregnant? Like that could ever happen."

"Which FB are you going to choose?"

"Really? How?"

"An anonymous donor."

"Right. I'll get the answer from you later."

"I might tell you later, but it's a bit embarrassing, for me."

"Oh?"

"Drop it Pamela!"

"Yes Master-consider the subject dropped."

I knew it would eat at her, and she at me until I caved. I did love my child dearly and there was very little I wouldn't do for her. I trusted her with everything else, so why not this. I'd think about it tomorrow. Tonight I had to get some work done.

* * *

**A/N: **Wow! You let Eric open his mouth and he tells you his life story. Don't know if I'll do that again!

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine...merely borrowed and will be returned by the due date!


	12. Chapter 11 Merlotte's & Fangtasia

**Chapter 11 Merlotte's & Fangtasia**

**Sookie POV**

I woke in the morning alone, Eric having left in the middle of the night to return to Fangtasia. He left me a note:

_My lover (and our little babes):_

_I will miss you all this evening while I work, _

_and today while I rest._

_I cannot stay with you tonight, and since you will_

_not stay with me at my house, it seems we will_

_not see each other this evening._

_That is too bad since it is the Valentine's Day. I am_

_sure you will call me when you are done with work._

_I will miss you until then._

_Love, E_

I sat down on my bed again in astonishment. He was right, he'd asked me before and he'd even told me it was an honor to be invited and I threw it back in his face. I decided it would be kind of fun to surprise him, so I packed up an overnight bag and found a really sexy nightie, not that I'd probably get to wear it for long this evening. It was red; just perfect for Valentine's Day.

I'd been so focused on getting better, and now on growing my babies, that I wasn't paying much attention to dates and such. I'd be back on a better schedule after I completed a few shifts at Merlotte's. Then I'd feel back to normal…well as normal as anyone can be after the past couple days I'd had—finding out I was pregnant, then getting proposed to, then finding out that I was having triplets, then finding out they were half-Fae, well it was an overwhelming two days to say the least!

I would be working the afternoon shift from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. That was a good way to ease back into working. I left the house at 3 p.m. even though it only took a couple of minutes to make it to the bar. I thought maybe I'd visit with Sam for a while before having to wait the tables.

I got there around 3:15 p.m. and found Sam filling the salt and pepper shakers. He looked at me and then looked down again, then looked up and grin and ran over to me and gave me a big hug. "Hey chere!"

"Hey Sam!" I said with a huge grin on my face. "It's nice to see you. Why were you looking at me funny a minute ago?"

"I—well, I didn't think it was you at first, so I looked away, then I remembered that you were working today—I'd forgotten!"

"Well, here I am! I came in a little early to chat and catch up. What's been going on since I've been away?"

"Pretty much same ol' same ol', you know."

"Nothing new and exciting?" I asked, hoping for a drunken Andy Bellefleur story, or that Sam had thrown someone out of the bar, but he had nothing. I was about to ask if he wanted me to start filling the ketchup bottles when in walked Amelia.

I ran toward her when I saw her. It was bright outside and I could tell she had momentary indoor blindness from coming in from the sun. She said, "Sookie?"

"Yes, it's me! I couldn't stand being at home one more minute and I decided that I needed to come back to Bon Temps. I have to deal with my grief by facing it head on and not running from it."

"Oh, Amelia! I am so glad you are here. Uh-oh!"

"What."

"Were you going to stay with me tonight?"

"Well…" she began hedging for an answer.

"You're welcome to," I said, "to stay at my house I mean, but I am not going to be there tonight."

"Okay, thanks, I was hoping I could—if you don't mind. And just where will you be?" she said with her left eyebrow crooked questioningly and a crooked grin on her face.

"Eric's house. I've never been and I think it's upsetting him that I haven't ever taken him up on his offer, so since it is Valentine's Day today, I thought I'd show up and surprise him with a packed bag and tell him I'm staying over. It's totally bad Southern manners to invite myself, but I think I can justify it, since I'm engaged to him, right?" I queried, hoping for an appropriate response.

"Yes of course you should go. And likewise, you wouldn't mind if I crash at your house while I decide what to do with my life, would you?"

"Mi casa es su casa! Anytime. You still have your keys, right? Are you okay with staying there—I mean after everything that's happened?"

"Yes, I still have my keys, and yes I think I'll be all right. I have to come to grips with the fact that I can't bring Tray back and I miss him. I've got to move on though and this is the best place for me to do that."

"It's going to be wonderful to have a roomy back again."

"Roomies again!" she said out loud, and because I wasn't shielding as well today I heard, _but for how long. You'll be living with Eric at his house soon, I bet._

Well, I know one vampire that would be really pleased if that would happen. That was too much to bite off and chew right now. First things first, I had to see the place. I wondered what it was like. It was probably some modern, ugly, McMansion located in a gated community with bullet proof windows, steel doors and a host of other security high tech devices if I knew Eric.

"I have to go and ask Sam if I can start working again…if he has any openings, excuse me for a minute," said Amelia, and she walked off to go find Sam again. I always wondered why Sam and Amelia never seemed to be attracted to each other. Oh well, I guess there just isn't any chemistry there. Still I'd like to see both of them happily settled with someone.

"Sure," I answered. I have to go start now anyway. The hours seemed to pass by quickly and but the time I looked up at the clock near the bar it was quarter to eight. Almost time to go see Eric. My heart gave a little flip flop. Was I nervous? I was, after a moment of thinking about it. Very nervous, but why?

* * *

I arrived at Fangtasia around 9 p.m. to find the bar parking lot full. I guess the whole Valentine's heart blood thing thrilled the fang bangers. I entered the bar through the employee entrance and ran into Pam, literally.

"Ouch, sorry Pam, are you okay?" I asked.

"I didn't sustain any injuries," she grinned. "So how are you and the babies?"

"Just fine! Thanks."

"Eric tells me that the father is a were?"

"No, that was old news, the father told me he was a were, but he was really a Faery in disguise. Stupid me I fell for his tricks, maybe you know him…Eric seemed to. His name is Preston?" I asked seeing if maybe she could tell me what happened. I thought I saw Pam's jaw drop, but then she collected herself.

"Preston? Preston Pardloe?"

"Yes do you know him?"

"I am…_mildly_ acquainted with him."

"Well, then you might know why Eric hates him so much more than I think he should."

"I think you had better ask Eric that. The master is out on the floor tonight in his booth. He probably knows you are here already, so go ahead and see him."

"Thanks," I said. She was clearly avoiding the question. It must be pretty bad. Well, I'd find out one way or the other. I walked in to see Eric. He was looking glum, but when he saw me his face brightened considerably and a surge of tranquility passed to me. I made my way to the table.

"Hello Viking," I smiled at him.

"Hello lover, and to what do I owe this honor?"

"Well," I began, thinking of a good way to invite myself without making it seem like I had, "I thought since it was Valentine's Day, I'd come and spend the evening with you here for a while and then drive back home. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Yes, my lover, it is always pleasant to see you, but I don't like you driving all that way back home at night in the dark in your condition after you've just gone back to work. You're tired and something could happen to you," he said. Sheesh! He was getting out every excuse in the book.

"Well, you make a good point," I said diplomatically egging him on, "what would you suggest I do instead, oh I know!" I said. I was going to make the fun.

"What do you know?"

"I'll call a cab."

"The hell you'll call a cab."

"Oh okay, you'll call one for me?" I almost couldn't stand this, no wonder Pam had so much fun!

"No. No one will call a cab!" he said getting downright angry. I could even feel some anger seeping through the bond although he was doing a good job of suppressing it.

"Well, then how will I get home?" I mustered all the Southern Belle innocence I could—if I recall correctly, I might have even batted my eye lashes.

I'll never forget the look I got! He was really angry and fierce looking. I gathered myself together and purposely looked sheepish and cowed in the hopes that I could stop the anger he was building toward me. It worked and he finally calmed down. It was a couple minutes before he spoke. "Sookie?" he said.

"Eric?"

"Wouldn't you rather come to my house?" he said with all the plaintiff Oliver-Twist-please-sir-can-I-have-more look that a six and a half foot 1000 year old Viking warrior turned vampire can muster.

"Yes, I thought you'd never ask! I have my bag in the car already—Happy Valentine's Day!"

He growled and then pulled me into a kiss that lasted a good five, or ten minutes. I'm sure it was a crowd pleaser, or if it wasn't it should have been! When he'd settled down further he asked, "did you know you were going to my—I mean _our_ because everything I have is now yours too—our house?"

"Yes," I said simply, no need for elaboration.

"Why would you make me think you wanted to go back to Bon Temps tonight instead of just telling me that you had packed a bag to stay with me this evening?"

"Because Pam's right!" I said playfully.

"Pam's right? Pam's right about what?!" he exclaimed getting a bit annoyed with the whole situation.

"Teasing you—it sure is mighty fun!"

Growl and sneer—aimed at me.

Grin—big cheesy grin, lobbed back.

"You know I could punish you about ten different ways for that don't you?" he said smugly.

"Well, just wait until we get home."

Growl and grin—big cheesy grin—returned.

Right back atcha!


	13. Chapter 12 Eric takes Sookie Home

**A/N: **I apologize that this is such a long chapter. I hope you don't mind. I will try to keep these two chattering love bird's squawking down to a bare minimum!

* * *

**Chapter 12 Eric takes Sookie Home**

**Valentine's Day**

"What are you smiling about?" I asked as we got into his Corvette.

"Many things," was the response I got in return.

He leaned over to pull my seatbelt over me and buckle me in and of course to kiss me softly on the way by. "What things?" I asked.

"Well, you for starters."

"Me?"

"Yes. You are letting me take you home—finally," he said while we were driving slightly northwest of Shreveport toward Blanchard.

"It's not a big deal. I just thought maybe I should see your place. So, where is it?"

"Oh, so you are _finally_ curious? Now so am I," he said pulling the car over onto the edge of the parish road that we'd turned down.

"Why are you stopping? There aren't any houses around here."

"I'm curious; I want to see how well you know me." I gulped. He continued with a smirk, "I want you, using your knowledge of me, to tell me what kind of house I have. What kind of house would Eric Northman, the 1000 year-old Viking warrior have?"

"Oh, well, ummm…" I sputtered. _Oh great_. I thought to myself, _how am I going to get out of this?_ _What if I am totally off base? Will I offend him?_

"Stalling?" he said with a deadpan face. "How well do you really know the man you are marrying?—The man who will be the father of your children?—The man you will sleep next to for the rest of your life?"

"I don't know Eric. I honestly don't know a whole lot about you. Is that a bad thing?"

He stared ahead for a minute lost in thought. "I don't share a whole lot of information about myself anyone," he said sounding distant. "You and Pam know more about me than anyone else in the world."

"I'm sure there's a lot to learn about you, baby, but I have my whole life to find out—you don't need to spill your guts tonight," I spoke truthfully. "All I need to know is that I love you, trust you, and want to be with you every night of my life—Why? Are you getting cold feet?—Perhaps you don't want to marry me after all?—Perhaps I am too much trouble?" I egged him on.

"No, I am not getting cold feet. Yes, I want to marry you, you silly woman. And **YES** you are _definitely_ more trouble than you are worth, but I have never shied away from a good challenge…but it seems that you are _avoiding_ the question at hand. Tell me about my home—give me a virtual tour."

He was relentless, so I barked, "All right, FINE! You want a virtual tour? You got one coming right up, buddy!" I said and began to describe the house that I had been talking about with Amelia, with the high security and cookie cutter landscaping, etc. When I had finished, he got an annoyed look on his face.

Oh dear, SHIT, I got it wrong! He looked straight ahead, started the car and peeled out like he was mad about what I had said. Why was it such a big deal? It was fifteen minutes of total, painful silence. Nothing was passed from him to my end of the bond, so I didn't know how he felt. This was torture! "I do own a house like that," he finally spoke. "I stay there often. Pam has been to that one. But that it isn't my _home_." Emphasis on the word _home_.

_O. K._ I thought slowly. Then he turned a sharp right off the parish road that we were on and turned down an avenue of trees and stopped the car for a bit of showmanship. "_**This**_," he said, "_**this**_ is my _home_—_our_ home."

"I'm stunned. I don't know what to say. It's beautiful and not at all what I thought it would be!" I gushed, and beautiful it was! It was a real plantation home. Unspoiled by a ton of modern landscaping and wicked painted-lady paint jobs. There were lights on inside. "Are there servants?"

"Oh yes, it is a working plantation. I had it built when I came here and hired freedmen originally to work on it for me. I have learned over the centuries that well paid workers are loyal and loyal workers tend to stick with you from cradle to grave. Some of the same families still work the land and-"

I interrupted him, "but weren't you recognized as different? Didn't they know that you were a vampire? How did you overcome that?"

"My lover, I hire good people. I hired a daytime man who posed as the plantation owner—told him it was a job for life—always hired a bachelor with no other family to get in the way and had him _will_ the home to his long lost son, i.e. _me,_ then I'd sell it to the next one and so on_._ Of course, Mr. Cataliades has been the lawyer for the estate since I built it, so he's been in on the scheme. The daytime owner has full use of the property for most of the time, except when I need it or want to retreat. I give him warning and pay for a little vacation. On the lands, the families own their own houses now and pay a small rental of the land to me. No one that works the land is allowed in the big house—it has all worked out beautifully for everyone for over two hundred years. Since the coming out of the vampire community, I will no longer need to let the property be used by a daytime man, and can rightfully claim it in my own name. I might even pay Mr. Fredericks off early and set him up in an assisted living community in Florida for the rest of his days."

"So is there someone there right now? The lights are on."

"No—Fredericks is on vacation for a little while. I had a cleaning crew come in today to clean and set things up for your visit."

"My visit? You knew I was coming? How?"

"The power of suggestion, my lover, coupled with your own sweet guilty conscience about turning me down last time."

"Well, at least that's one thing I know about you!" I said with surety.

"What's that?"

"Your downright dirty deviousness!" This garnered a laugh from both of us as we parked in front of the plantation home. It was a mansion and could have fit about ten of my little houses inside and then some!

As we walked up the stairs of the front stoop hand-in-hand, I kept my mouth open in awe looking at the beautiful two-story pillars, the red brick and the six-over-six double hung windows with black shudders.

"Two years—two years I have waited to bring you here," he said raggedly as he scooped my up in his arms on the long front porch, and carried me through the front door. The smell hit me first—roses. Dozens and dozens of blood red roses sat on tables all over the entry hall. Eric continued to look at me and said earnestly, "Two years of longing for you, pining for you, wanting you, caring about you, loving you, needing you. Two years of planning how to make you see how much I love you. Two years of agony waiting for you to decide how you felt. Two—" I put my fingers up to his lips, my eyes streaming with tears already at this confession of love, devotion, obsession.

"Two years of talking me to death when you should just shut up and kiss me!" He did. He stood there with me in his arms and kissed me for what seemed like _two years_, no pawing or petting, just a long drawn-out kiss—the kind that makes you forget who and where you are. When we broke free I stared at him deep in his eyes, "Two years, huh?" _**WOW!**_

"Sookie you have no idea what it's been like for me. Wanting you all the time you were with Bill and Quinn and worried that you fall in love with someone else while I was working things out with the new king. Then when I almost lost you…if you had died…" he trailed off.

"Yes," I said solemnly, "I do know—sort of how you felt. I felt the same feelings of helplessness after your old memories came back and your new ones were lost. You probably wouldn't know, but I cried for days mourning the loss of you. I was scared to reach out to you—even after you remembered those events. I don't know why, but I was separating you into two men—it was really stupid of me, looking back on it."

He gave me a meaningful stare and a quick peck on the forehead and then said, "Let's stop talking about all this romance and love and have some fun."

"Oh really? I bet I know what you want to do," I presumed.

"I bet you don't."

I stated the obvious, "You want to take me upstairs and ravage me a bit for a very long time in ten different ways and ten different locations."

"That's where you wrong! Not even close. I actually want to walk you around your new home and show you all my favorite spots in the house, and my sleeping quarters, which no one else has ever been trusted with. After it was built, I glamoured the builders so they would forget about it. Then I want to show you the kitchen and the food that I bought for you and then maybe if there is time, I have a treat for you upstairs."

And he toured me around the place…there were rooms everywhere. Living, sitting, withdrawing, and smoking rooms on the main floor, not to mention a really huge library, and conservatory with a baby grand and a built in greenhouse! We returned to the front of the house and the hallway filled with roses.

When we finally got upstairs, he led me through a couple of bedrooms with four poster beds on the outside of the house. There was one in the middle of the house, very cleverly located and hidden, with no windows. It was made of brick, he said, and was fire proof and had a steel door and security system. Besides electricity, telephones, TV & appliances, and wireless internet, it was the only modern convenience in the house. "In the old days," he said, "I had to make do with just the just the steel door and a dead bolt."

It was an enormous room with a California king-sized, four-poster bed made of black walnut, dark and masculine but not to heavy furniture of the same wood. "Go and change into whatever beautiful gown you thought I'd tear to shreds this evening and freshen up and then let's go to bed. I have a surprise for you."

I scurried along, and got into my red gown and brushed my teeth. I was only in there for 5 minutes, but when I came out, the whole room was stuffed to the gills with the roses from downstairs and my Viking was lying on the bed in his red silk boxer shorts holding a remote. He pressed a couple buttons and suddenly a flat screen TV popped out from behind the picture over the dresser and began playing the Overture from Gone with the Wind. I walked over to the bed and climbed in next to him, but under the covers. He got under the covers too and we held each other and kissed while the Overture played in the background.

Then something totally unexpected happened. Eric, the Viking horn-dog of the century, abruptly stopped kissing me and started watching the movie! I didn't know what to make of it, so I asked him as much. He paused the movie.

"I want this night to be etched in your memory. Although I am _enormously_ turned on by your red night gown and the thought of its hasty removal, I wanted to be a big romantic on Valentine's Day and cuddle you and watch this movie that you seem to be so hung up on. Don't you?"

I curled my lip up and rolled my eyes, feigning disappointment, but secretly had always wanted to share this movie with Eric in a romantic setting. It didn't get much better than this, so I shrugged and said, "Press Play."

We made it through the first half and while the screen switched to Intermission, he kissed me again and slipped his fingers in me and brought me almost to a climax, then the movie started again, so he paused it to make a comment, but I beat him to it saying, "that intermission was always so long, especially on VHS, but when you are—ah—doing things during intermission, it passes by _WAY_ too quickly." I spoke breathlessly.

He chuckled. "I was noticing how much like Ashley Bill is, how much like Rhett I am, and you are a mixture of the best bits of Scarlett and Melanie."

"How so?"

"Well, Ashley and Bill are both very gentlemanlike in their manners, but both are cowards who gained the love of a good woman and treated it like garbage. They are also both stuck in the past. I am like Rhett, roguish, and used to getting what I want and totally besotted with one woman even to the detriment of our own wellbeing. And you have all the goodness of Melanie—her strength of character and her selfless warm heart, but you also have the braveness, quick thinking, and the "passion for living" as Rhett says, that Scarlett possesses as well as her survival skills."

"Well, you should see the end and let me know what you think then. Press play."

* * *

**February 15th**

I didn't get to see the end as I had fallen asleep in Eric's arms. I awoke later that day to find him still in bed with me. He'd brought me a meal and left a note with it letting me know to be careful of him when he was sleeping and lock up if I left. I stayed in bed and read a book and cat napped all day next to my Viking until he woke.

He immediately said, "You fell asleep before the movie ended."

"I'm sorry, but I've seen it about two hundred times before, so I know it by heart. Want me to recite it?" I asked tipping my head to the side being cute and playful.

"No thank you. Once was enough for me," he said blandly.

"Didn't you like it?"

"It was okay."

"Just okay? It won ten Oscars including Best Picture of 1939, Best Actress, Best Actor, etc. How can you say you didn't like it?!" I said getting a little angrier than I should have.

"Okay," he smirked and winked at me, "it was _very_ good movie. I liked it."

I was being placated! I got up off the bed, got my clothes on and threw my crap in my bag muttering really stupid things under my breath and mocking his voice when he had said _very good movie_ emphasizing each word in a mock-Swedish accent as I threw each thing in the bag. In short, looking back on the argument—well the fight—that was about to ensue, my new hormonal emotions were to blame, i.e. I concede that it was my fault, but here's how it played out at the time:

"Calm down Sookie!" he demanded and tried passing calming feelings through the bond. I don't know what was wrong with me, but I was feeling really man-handled and very anxious and nervous and raw….VERY RAW! My nerves were on their wits end.

"SHUT UP ERIC! Don't you tell me to calm down! I am perfectly calm!" I screamed at him as I slammed the door. I made it to the top of the stairs before it was flung open again.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? You gone from being my sweet little Sookie to acting like a completely spoiled CHILD!" he roared at the top of his lungs. Now let me tell you, a vampire shouting it a fearful thing to behold, but a vampire screaming is a truly frightening thing indeed—not to mention the fact that I could feel this emotion stronger than anger, maybe frustration…fear?

"A CHILD? I'M A _CHILD_? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST CALLED ME THAT!" I screamed back at him.

"Hey! You're _behaving_ like a child, Sookie" he said settling down a bit and trying again to force me to settle down through the bond.

"You dumb, overbearing, manipulative, high-handed Viking! Stop it! Stop that right now! I hate that! That's what I hated about the bond in the FIRST PLACE!" my voice was getting shriller and my throat was getting sorer. "Stop controlling me!" I croaked out my fists clenched together.

I ran down the stairs and out the front door, stopped on the porch, turned around and went back in. He was glaring at me with dark eyes. Did he think I'd changed my mind?

I walked past him into the kitchen and got a bottle of water from the fridge. It was going to be a long walk toward Shreveport where I could call a taxi to meet me at a road I could describe. I didn't even know where in the world I was. I breezed past him. He reached out to grab my arm and said, "My lover, I don't know what we are fighting about. I don't want to fight with you!"

"Don't want to fight? Some warrior YOU ARE!" I spat. And then I said the most heinous thing I could have ever said, "You don't want to fight WITH me and you sure as hell weren't there to fight FOR me when I needed you!" UH OH. I didn't mean to say that. I don't think that. Not anymore. Oh hell. Suddenly the fight was out of me.

"get out," he said meekly not meeting my eyes.

"Eric, honey, I-I'm sorry—I didn't mean t-" I began but he interrupted.

"your bag is packed…I said GET OUT!" he began softly and roared at the end.

"Look, I'm sor-ry-yy,"I began whimpering, "I didn't mean it, really. I shouldn't have said it. "I AM SORRY!" I wept.

He chuckled morosely, "Here's something I remember from your _precious_ movie, 'Frankly me dear—I don't give a DAMN!'" and with that, he gently picked me up and placed me on the porch and slammed the door so hard that I could hear the bits of plaster that came off the lathe on the inside around the door frame tinkle down the casement.

I sat on the top step of the porch and openly sobbed while leaning my head against one of the pillars. I couldn't tell you how long I sat there, thinking that maybe he would come out again. He didn't. I didn't go and knock on the door either. Finally, I stopped crying and picked up my cell phone.

"Amelia?" I began…


	14. Chapter 13 Lonely Misconceptions

**Chapter 13 Lonely Misconceptions**

**Eric POV**

I sat on the steps in the hall of my home. I was pissed as hell at what the woman I thought I loved said to me. She insulted me, berated me, and totally cut my heart out. Not fight for her? I'd been fighting for her since the day I met her. I'd saved her life so many times I couldn't name then all, but the one time, the ONE time I was prevented—by her own great-grandfather—from rescuing her—Arrgh! Stupid woman. Silly woman. My woman.

I could hear her outside crying her eyes out. I wanted to run to her, to protect her, comfort her, love her, but she'd spoken her mind, and she'd cut me so deeply, all I could do was sit and cry myself—DAMN HER!—I had shed a tear or two before, but I was crying. WHY?! I should have killed her or let her get killed when I first met her, or I should have turned her, so she would obey me…but then, as I sat pondering, she wouldn't be my Sookie anymore. Her free spirit is what draws me to her like a moth to a flame.

"Amelia…" I heard her say on the porch steps, "Eric and I…we," she sobbed again into the phone. "Yes…I don't know…No…I'll figure it out and let you know." I heard the phone snap shut. I my head, the conversation went like this:

"**Amelia…"** said Sookie.

"_Sookie, is everything all right?"_ her friend would say, naturally. It's the only thing she would say given Sookie's opening remark and tone of voice.

"**Eric and I…we"** Sookie said but then she started crying again. I hate it when she cries. It fills the bond with sadness and I feeling very weepy too. I can be kind of embarrassing.

"_You had a quarrel, but you still love him, right?"_ of course Amelia would know that Sookie loves me. Women are honest about that with each other—but they sure as hell fight telling men. I know it's part of the game, but still…

"**Yes"** obviously, right?

"_Well then what's wrong?"_ Amelia knows Sookie and I can work anything out and would obviously tell Sookie that.

"**I don't know"** of course there isn't anything really wrong with us Sookie, come on.

"_Then there isn't anything to worry about, is there?"_ In my mind, Amelia was making Sookie's doubts go away.

"**No"**

"_You know you love him and you know he loves you…you just have to figure it out!" _At a girl Amelia, reassure her of our bond and our love and the life we are building.

"**I'll figure it out and let you know."** That's my lover!—always willing to fix the problem. I'm sure she'd call Amelia again to gossip about how great the make-up sex was.

Obviously, that's not how the conversation went…just how I thought it played out in my mind. I thought she was going to figure out how to apologize to me, so I went upstairs to ready the bedroom and take a shower. I thought I would go out on the porch, sweep her up off her feet and carry her upstairs see if I couldn't get her to scream at me again, but in a good way.

I open the front door expecting to see her there huddled against the pillar. No Sookie. I looked around. No Corvette. No CORVETTE! No one drives my 'Vette! She couldn't have gone far in it. How long was I up there? Maybe ten minutes? Fifteen tops? Oh Sookie! I couldn't feel the bond again either, and that had me worried—more worried than anything.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

"Amelia…"

"Sookie, is everything all right?"

"Eric and I…we" and I couldn't continue, I sobbed.

"You and Eric had a fight?"

"Yes"

"About what"

"I don't know"

"Marriage, sex, living arrangements, the babies?"

"No"

"Look, Sookie—I am coming to get you…where are you exactly? Can you tell me?"

"I'll figure it out and let you know." I said as I snapped the phone shut. I promised Eric I wouldn't tell the location of this place, but I had to get away and I couldn't exactly walk back to Shreveport or Blanchard. I didn't know if I had enough for a cab anyway, but a greyhound…hmmm. I could disappear from the face of the Earth and no one would know (or care).

I didn't know where the hell I was. I could walk, but he'd just catch up to me—if he was coming at all. I could walk to one of the houses that were on the property, but it was dark and I didn't know where the paths were. I was kicking myself for not exploring a bit during the day. All the sudden I realized that I couldn't feel anything from the bond—no remorse, annoyance, love, lust, every emotion I had felt up until just a couple minutes ago was now quelled. I had a feeling that he shut his door on the bond like I shut my mind to…hey…maybe that was me! I tried to reach out a little and _feel _where Eric was. I could tell he was enormously sad and I felt awful. I slammed the door shut on the bond like he did to me. Then opened it, and then closed it again. Wow. The control is amazing—quite a power trip! I forgave Eric on the spot for calling me a child (I was behaving badly) and for slamming the door in my face (I probably deserved it) and I went in to tell him my cool trick. I thought he'd be sitting on the stairs still, but he wasn't. I went upstairs thinking that he might be lying down, pissed off and trying to calm down—then I heard the shower going.

A shower? I was going through all this and he takes a shower? _Humph!_ I thought. Well, so much to telling him I was sorry! I grabbed the keys to his precious 'Vette and bolted all the way back to Fangtasia. I called Pam on my cell phone and told her that I need to drop the keys off with her that Eric had asked me to. She met me there and I took my car and drove, but I didn't go home. I called Amelia and to let anyone who was interested enough to ask know that I was safe but wanted to be left alone for a while. I didn't tell her where I was going, but I made a phone call to see if I'd be welcome…

* * *

**A/N: **I just hope she doesn't fall asleep at the wheel! More to come. I am re-writing some of the chapters I had sketched out. I wasn't expecting Eric and Sookie to fight, they were getting along so well, but that's a relationship for you!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters and I thank CH for letting us all take them out to the park to play for a whle...


	15. Chapter 14 Remy & Sookie

**Chapter 14 Remy & Sookie**

I knocked on the door.

"Hello, Sookie" said Remy, pulling me into an unexpected hug. "It's really nice to see you, but what brings you by at this late hour?

"I know it's late, but I need a place to crash for a couple nights…a place where no one knows me and no one knows where to find me."

"Of course," he said, "Come on in, I know Hunter would just love to see his Aunt Sookie in the morning. He's gone to bed now."

"Thanks. I'm not putting you out or anything, am I?" I asked, hoping that I wasn't or I don't know where I'd go."

"No, not at all," he responded, adding, "actually I was hoping to see if Hunter could stay with you for a while. My work is sending me away for training for a couple weeks starting next Monday, and my folks aren't able to take him where they live for that long."

"Sure. I'd love to have him. When would he be coming?" I asked, sitting down at the table and the chair that he offered me.

"Drink?" he asked. I nodded. "Well, had called you a couple weeks ago, but you were busy," (boy was I ever) "and I was fixing to call you—wine, cocktail?—" he motioned to some bottles on the counter. I shook my head, "but here you are! Sure I can't temp you with something to relax you? You seem a might tense."

"Well, I'll have a glass of milk if you have one," I offered up, "I'll explain in a minute. Can I stay with you until Monday and just take Hunter back with me?"

"Sure, that's fine. It will give you two a chance to know each other better before he leaves with you. One milk coming up!" he said as he handed me the glass . "Now, tell me, what's on your plate Sookie?"

"Well, since you and I spoke last, I've:

-Been harassed by the FBI

-Witnessed my pregnant sister-in-law's brutal ritualistic death

--Been kidnapped and tortured literally almost to death—by Faeries hired by a rival of my great-grandfather, who is now the Prince of all Faeries

-Found out I was pregnant by a one night stand who I later discovered was sent by my great-grandfather to at least "show me a good time" and maybe to even impregnate me—PURPOSELY!—long story

-Got engaged to my on-again off-again vampire lover, Eric, to whom I am already married according to vampire law—against my wishes, but for my protection

-Found out the next day that I was pregnant with triplets—and found out that they are half Fae, which worries me since I don't know how Eric is going to manage around them

-And finally," I said with a dramatic phew! "I've just had a fight with Eric, and I want to avoid him for a while. Since I'm not scheduled to work for a while I thought maybe I could just be where no one really knows me to judge me. I just told you a lot of fantastical stuff and I have a whole lot more to tell you. Some of it you may not believe, but it is part of Hunter's heritage too, so I think you should know."

He sat there stony-faced and staring. Apparently ignoring what I had said, he asked, "Have you eaten?"

I _was_ kind of hungry. "No, I haven't, but you don't have to trouble yourself. I can make some eggs, if you have some?" I asked politely. I hated to be so imposing, but he was sort of family.

"Nonsense, I'm happy to cook for another adult and I haven't eaten tonight either. I can make something more than scrambled eggs if you want."

"Thanks, but eggs are just fine. I'm feeling a bit queasy right now from the car ride."

I watched him make the eggs and cook for me and I was reminded how nice it had been when Quinn and I made meals together. I knew that Eric and I would never do that, or at least he'd never eat them. I felt a pang of regret for that. Eric. I should really call him and tell him I am okay. He must be beside himself with worry, right? I excused myself from the room and Remy took me to the living room where called him.

"Sookie? Where are you? I'm worried about you. I came out to apologize to you for slamming the door in your face and calling you a child and you were gone."

"Now it's my turn to quote the movie," I chuckled mildly, "my dear it seems we are working at cross purposes; I had gone it to say I was sorry. Eric?" I asked, needing to say something more.

"Yes, lover," he said humbly.

"I love you, but I need to be by myself to drink this all in. I've an overwhelming few days—it's all too much for me…"

"I love you too, my dear one, but it seems we can never stay more than a few days together before something—even us—tears us apart. Will you tell me where you are? Are you safe?"

"I am safe, but I don't want to tell you where I am. I don't want anyone to know. I need to tell you something else. Something about our bond."

"What about our bond?" he asked with the most curious voice I'd ever heard come from his mouth.

"I can turn it off and on!" I said triumphantly.

"So you've evolved," he said sounding dejected, "and you've decided to turn it off so that I can't feel you or find you. You can turn it back on if you want, I won't come looking for you. As long as you are safe with…who are you with? You said and I forgot."

"You don't forget things like that Eric and I didn't say!" I challenged him.

"You ran off again," he fought back. "I don't like it when you aren't near me." _You're a needy vampire, that's why I need some time away_, I thought.

"I know you don't, baby, but I just need to be by myself for a few days. I'll be safe, don't worry."

"I will. I do. I can't help it. What if something happens to you? What if you need me?" he asked relentlessly. My response was that I turned the bond back on and flooded it with love and warmth. I wasn't sure it would work from such a distance. It did.

"Thanks," he said and I felt a warm surge bounce back before I suppressed the bond again. "Sookie!" he admonished, but I could tell he was smiling still on the other end.

"No cheating, lover!" I teased back. Just then Remy came in and told me my eggs were done.

"Who was that man's voice?" Eric asked suspiciously. "Who are you with?"

"I'm with a friend and I am safe. I will be home on Monday and you can come over and see me then, okay?"

"No," he pouted, as much as a vampire _can _pout, "no, but I don't have a choice, you are being very high-handed."

"Ha! Now you know how it feels!" I ribbed him.

He was silent for a moment, and then he spoke, "Sookie. I want you to do something for me," he continued without pausing, "I want you to open up the bond again, so that I can find you if you need me. I promise I won't look for you unless you call for me using the bond."

Hmmm…caring or underhanded and manipulative or both…"_Can_ you really stay away? _Will_ you really stay away? Can I _trust_ you? You know what happens if I can't trust you don't you?" I asked suspiciously.

"Yes I _can_ stay away, yes I _will_ stay away, and yes you _can_ trust me. What will you do if you feel you can't trust me? Run away?" he challenged.

I was taken aback. He was right, I bolted every time things got rough between us. I hate it when he's right. I opened the bond and slammed him with annoyance.

"Thank you my lover. I will keep my word and I won't meddle. And Sookie, one more thing…"

"What?"

"Don't touch the 'Vette again. No one drives her but me."

I slammed him with more feelings of annoyance with a touch of anger as well as mirth thrown in to keep him guessing and hung the phone up.


	16. Chapter 15 Eric's Promise

**Chapter 15 Eric's Promise**

"_I will keep my word and I won't meddle. And Sookie, one more thing…"_

* * *

**Eric POV**

The hell I won't meddle, I thought to myself. She is _mine_. She is _my wife_. I _will_ protect her, but DAMN HER! She made me _promise_ not to interfere. Ha! She made _**ME**_ promise not to interfere. She didn't make _Sam_ promise, she didn't make _Amelia_ promise, and she didn't make _Bill_ promise…now there's an idea!

I got on my cell phone and made a call.

"Compton," answered Bill.

"Are you quite recovered?" I asked. I didn't want him making a mess of things if he wasn't strong enough.

"Yes, I am feeling back to normal, why?"

"I have a reconnaissance mission for you to investigate." I said, leaving the thought open ended. I wanted to see if he'd catch where I was going with this.

"But I thought I had standing orders to keep an eye on Sookie at all times…"

"Yes, and you've been lax in your duties of late. You let her get taken by faeries and she almost died, and you've been taking too long to recover. I've had Bubba watching her house at night, which I will continue to do as it will be an excellent rouse. Here's what I need you to do…" I said and explained to him his mission.

I wanted him to track Sookie down, since he was a much better tracker than I. Once he found her, he was to watch her wherever she was and not interfere with anything she was doing. He was to report back to me at regular intervals, or if something particularly interesting was happening. He was to tell me who she came into contact with and find out their names and reasons for being near my love—my life, more like it.

"When would you like me to start—strike that—_where_ would you like me to start, how long has she been gone, when did you last see her, talk to her, smell her?" he went on and on with questions. When he finally stopped, I told him everything I knew and he said he'd need my cell phone and would meet me outside of Fangtasia.

* * *

I stood outside Fangtasia for about 15 minutes anxiously awaiting Bill's arrival, which is something that I don't normally like to do. It felt awkward. Bill finally arrived and got out of his car with his laptop.

"I am going to try the high-tech way first, so give me your cell phone and I will see if I can run a trace on the call with some new software I just tried. If that doesn't work, I will just use my own personal tracking devices to hunt her down," he said. I knew this meant a combination of his nose and the blood exchange that they had shared. It wasn't nearly as strong as the connection that she and I had, but it was not a weak one either. I growled quietly to myself and Bill looked up smugly. I hated him for that, but right now it was useful.

Five minutes passed. It felt like an hour and time means almost nothing to vampires, so that was saying something. "Anything yet?" I asked impatiently.

"Yes," he said. "The call originated from a tower in the Evangeline Parrish. I found it and ran a search for towns in the area. I will scout them out and call you when I find her. I should take me a couple hours or so." He said matter-of-factly.

"Remember Bill, no matter what, you are not to bother her, or speak to her, or let her know that you are there. The only way you should make your presence known is if she is in terrible danger. When you do find her, I want you to report to me everything you see—people, places, cars, and so forth. I want to know it all, Bill."

"I'm not stupid Eric," he said obviously disgusted at me.

"I know Bill, and that is the only reason you are still alive," I said soberly to him. I'd have staked him long ago if it weren't for his damn usefulness. Lucky him.

* * *

**Third Person Narrative**

Special Agents Weiss and Lattesta sat in their car, warming their hands against a cup of coffee. Fortunately, Weiss had thought to grab her Thermos before they left, or they'd be freezing their asses off. It was a cold night. Suddenly, they both turned their heads to the same spot on the mini laptop they carried with them, as it made bleep noise. They looked at each other quizzically.

"Interesting," said Lattesta.

"Quite," agreed Weiss, "someone is looking for our girl too! I wonder who that could be. Should we run a trace?"

"Nothing better to do. How much longer do you think she'll hold out? I want her—I mean we need her to help us," Lattesta said, correcting himself at the last minute.

Weiss met his eyes. She knew he found Sookie Stackhouse attractive, but she still marveled and smirked at the Freudian slip. "We have orders Tom. Looky-no-touchy! We can only bring her in if she wants to be brought in. There's no forcing her to join us, no matter what her abilities are. Of course," she said with a wry smile, "we can always make sure she ends up in a position where she needs to make that decision."

"I like your way of thinking, Sara."

The two drank their coffee as they watched Remy's house from their parked position, hoping that their continued presence wouldn't be noticed in a town as small as this backwoods hole was.

* * *

**Bill POV**

I had to chuckle. Sookie, Sookie, Sookie. That's all my life had become. I loved her the moment she first held my face in her hands, marveling at not being able to hear me. Those beautiful blue eyes, boring into mine—that hair, always smelling like…like sweetness, indescribable sweetness—that body—those breasts. I was the first man to taste the pleasure of those breasts…

"Stop it Bill!" I scolded myself. "She's not yours anymore. You blew it. She's Eric's now. He's your boss. She loves _him_ and _not you_!" I could scold myself all I wanted, but she was still _mine_ in my heart. I would never find her equal. I could never love another.

I made a checklist of towns in which to search for her. She was not in the first three. I would have felt her sensual essence exploding all over me as I do every time I am near her. I honestly don't know how Eric makes it through the night without loving her to death, or how he makes it through the day with her sleeping right next to him while he rests. He has it much worse than I do. Of course, he's put himself into this position with their blood bond and official pledging. Poor bastard. I almost feel sorry for him sometimes—NOT! Lucky bastard.

Finally, I approached the next town, if you could call a dozen houses and an all-purpose town hall building a town. Red Ditch. Not much of a name! WHAM! I was struck with the presence of Sookie Stackhouse. I pulled the car over on the edge of the road and get out. It would be stealthy walking from here on out. I crept through the back yards of a few houses until I felt her stronger and stronger, like a blip on a RADAR. I peered into the windows of a house in the middle of the block. There were woods to the back, I noted—good, great for an easy escape, and easy voyeurism. She was sitting at a kitchen table with a man I had never seen before. They were eating and drinking. I looked away disgusted.

I picked the phone up and call Eric, per direction.

"I found her."

Sigh of relief. "How far away is she? Is she behaving herself? She is with a man…have you seen him before? It better not be Quinn."

"Eric, calm down. She's in Red Ditch in the Evangeline Parish about two hours southeast of Shreveport. She's sitting at a table with a man eating eggs or something else disgusting."

"You know that really bothered her about you, don't you?" Eric asked out of the blue.

"What?"

"The disgust you have for her consuming food. She said you were always bothered by it."

The statement stung me in a way I had never felt. She never complained about it, but that was Sookie's way—polite. I began to wonder what else she hadn't liked about me. "I must have a stronger sense of smell. That's why I am a better tracker than you are." I threw that in to make him a bit angry.

"Are you watching her right now?" Eric asked ignoring the jibe I just made.

"Yes."

"Continue to do so and call me every hour on the hour until sunrise. Call me even if she is sleeping and report about the neighborhood. You have your laptop with you, right?" he queried.

"Yes."

"Good. I want you to use it to send me reports every hour on the half hour and dig up as much information as you can about this man that she is with. I've fought to long and hard to lose her to someone else, but then I suppose you know that feeling, right Bill?" he said taunting me.

"Sure, a report every half hour," I said and hung up, not taking him up on his dig.

I sat and watched the house, moving stealthily around the yard, through the woods to the corner of the street. The only movement was that of a rogue deer I had startled in the woods. When I came to the street corner, I noticed a car facing the houses on the block where Sookie was holed up. There was a man and a woman in the front seat and the faint glow of a computer's LCD screen silhouetting their heads in an ethereal way. They were deep in conversation and I don't think they noticed me. I noted the license plate number and went back to the back of the house to look it up.

I reported in an e-mail back to Eric what I had found.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry to leave you on a high bluff overlooking the vast ocean of curiosity, but I have to put the kids to bed.

I wasn't liking where my story was going, but it's found a new tack and I think you'll be pleased, so get out your last three books and review 'cause I'm dredging up some old characters...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, but am enjoying checking them out of C. Harris's lovely fantasy library--thanks for sharing.


	17. Chapter 16 Reports

**Chapter 16 Reports**

_I reported in an e-mail back to Eric what I had found._

* * *

**Eric POV**

**From:----William Compton William . Compton#gmail . com**

**To: ------Eric Northman BLDSKR#1#gmail . com**

**Date: ----Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 1:30 AM**

**Subject: Sookie is safe-FBI is watching**

**Eric,**

**Sookie is being watched by two FBI Special Agents, in a rental car. License Plate WL 8620 turned up as a Hertz rental car, and when I accessed the Hertz database, it was shown to have been rented to Sara Weiss. When I pulled up her driver's license number, the information came back that she is employed by the FBI field office in New Orleans.**

**Question: Are these the same two FBI agents that were following her and questioning her around the time her sister-in-law was murdered? If so, I think I recall the other agent's name and I will look it up and send you information in the next report. **

**W. Compton, Investigator**

**Area 5, Louisiana**

Well, well, well. I thought to myself. So the FBI is still following my little Sookie. I began to fantasize what I would do with those Special Agents if they tried to take her away from me. I would enjoy draining them slowly before ripping their heads off and tearing them to shreds. Sookie would never know. I don't think that she would approve.

Sookie. I began to fantasize about being with her again. First, I would…

"Master," Pam's voice brought me out of my reverie, "the bar is going to be closing in ten minutes. Would you like to make a final appearance?"

"I suppose so, then I will have you close up and leave, and I will lock up the place and go to my house," I said. "I am expecting a phone call from Bill."

"Bill? How is Bill doing? Is he still chasing after Sookie?" she asked.

"He says he's fine now and no he is NOT chasing after Sookie. I think he values his existence more that his lust for her. He can never have her, she _mine_," I snapped. "Right now, Sookie is "_taking some time to think about us_" and is staying at a friend's house. I have Bill watching her to make sure she is safe," I snarled through gritted teeth.

"Oh. I have read about that particular behavior in a women's magazine. Human women are so quirky, especially when they are pregnant!" she said, like she had all the answers. She hadn't been human in over a hundred years, and she was only 19 when I turned her…now she's the expert? I decided to pursue the topic.

"Go on," I said with feigned interest.

"Well, Master, pregnant humans have hormones that change their mood from one minute to the next. They simply cannot control themselves. The slightest thing can set them off…" her voice trailed off and she suddenly looked inquisitive. I knew what was coming. "Did you two have a fight?"

Oh great! There it is. I am officially not a bad-ass fierce vampire Sheriff any more. I am suddenly a silly little school-girl gossipy hen clucking about things like relationships and female problems with my overly feminine vampire child. Still, I was curious—too curious to let it go. "Yes."

"Well then, here is what you need to do. You need to apologize to Sookie. It doesn't matter if you were right or not, but you need to tell her you're sorry and then you need to tell her you'll be more supportive and understanding of her. Do you want to know what the one thing is that you need to remember?"

"Yes," in for a penny in for a pound, I thought.

"The pregnant woman is always right!" and with that morsel of knowledge delivered, she closed up the bar and left me along to my thoughts. A few minutes after 2 a.m., my phone rang, "Northman," I answered.

"Compton."

* * *

**Sookie POV**

**February 16****th**** 12:30 a.m.**

I walked back into the kitchen to find a huge plateful of scramble eggs, with fresh fruit and another tall glass of milk. I was mighty grateful and sat down ready to eat. I thanked Remy and we began eating. I knew the barrage of questions would be coming, so I steadied myself.

"How are the eggs?" asked Remy. Okay, not the first question I thought he'd ask.

"Fluffy and creamy. Very good!" I responded, very impolitely with a mouthful of them.

"FBI? Faeries? Torture? Pregnancy? Marriage? All in the course of a couple weeks?" he began.

"Well the pregnancy thing actually happened _before_ the FBI came…okay here's the whole story…" and I began from the moment I met Bill until I arrived on the doorstep of Remy's house. I explained it all. He sat there slowly chewing his food—eyes wide, nodding once in a while. Completely in awe.

"So let me get this straight. You are a telepath, and Hunter is a telepath, you and your brother and my ex-wife were one-eighth Faery? So then Hunter is one-sixteenth Faery. You met a man in Rhodes who was a telepath too and now the FBI wants him and you too? You slept with a Faery who you thought was a were, but was really a Faery, and now you are pregnant with his triplets? You married a vampire in a secret ceremony that isn't legal in our world, but is binding in his? You were captured by your own

Faerykind and tortured almost to death, and drank massive quantities of your vampires blood to heal? What kind of life are you leading that you are trying to take my son into?"

"I was expecting that response. If Hunter were my child, I wouldn't want him to go off with a relative I barely knew—especially one that is around a lot of dangerous people. But I can keep him safe, and so can Eric. If anything does come up, he'll be just fine. I promise. Besides, most of the trouble I have faced in the past is over with now. The Faeries have returned to Faery—their realm, or will be gathering in Ireland for the final gate closing in March, so they aren't a problem for me anymore since the ones that were against my great grandfather are dead. The FBI seems to have left now. I haven't seen them anywhere lately, and they are more of a nuisance than a threat. I will make sure that Eric extends his protection to Hunter. That's a formal declaration in the vampire world and means a lot. I am also the friend of the pack for several different packs of weres around Louisiana, so he would be well protected by them too. And there's also Amelia, my friend who is a witch-" he interrupted me.

"A witch as in horrible cow, or a witch as in ride a broomstick?"

"The broomstick kind."

"Of course," he said with a sweeping gesture meaning for me to continue.

"Anyway, she's a witch and has the house charmed against many different types of intruders, so although I laid a lot of information at your doorstep, Hunter would be safe for two weeks at my house. Will you trust me with him?"

"Sookie, I am desperate for someone to watch him, I don't really have a choice. He needs your training so that he can live a normal life." I was elated, so I leaned around the table and gave him a huge hug and a kiss on the lips. Oops. He was a little turned on by that, I could tell by the look in his eyes, not to mention an errant thought running around his head. I slowly backed away, staring at him, and he grabbed me quickly and passionately and kissed the socks off of me. Oh shit!

"Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop!" I pleaded. "Remy," I said pulling away as hard as I could, "please stop. I am a married woman! I mean engaged—I mean spoken for—oh you know what I mean!"

"Sookie, I am so sorry. It's been a long time. I don't know what got into me, and you were there and you were vulnerable and beautiful. I'm sorry. I won't let it happen again."

"For your own sake, you'd better not. Eric would kill you as sure as you're standing here if he saw you do that. I am sorry, but that is the cold, hard reality of Eric. I have to be careful about whom I kiss, and that sort of a kiss, well that's a death sentence. We are both lucky that he wasn't watching." I suddenly had a feeling like I was being watched, so I quickly jumped up and shut off the kitchen lights and looked out the window toward the back yard. I thought I saw a movement, but I let it go. I was busy blocking with my shields so that I didn't hear Remy's thoughts, so I forgot to perform a search of the area. Maybe later, when I was in bed…just in case.

"What is it Sookie?"

"Nothing, just nothing. Listen, I am really tired, and I want to be up to see that little cousin of mine tomorrow, where will I sleep?"

_Underneath me._ I picked up from Remy's head (oops, shields dropped for a second), but his voice said, "Right this way, my lady," and he led me upstairs and to a spare bedroom. I turned on the light by the bedside table and he kissed my hand good night and left the room. I pulled down the shade, and again thought I saw something move in the woods.

* * *

**Bill POV**

**February 16****th**** 2 AM**

I could kiss Remy Savoy, and I could kill him and enjoy doing both! This was going to drive Eric nuts, and I was going to relish every delicious minute of it. Of course I knew that Sookie would be okay. She could temper Eric and his anger in ways that experienced negotiators could only dream about. If I thought she wasn't safe for a minute, I wouldn't have ever said anything.

"Northman."

"Compton."

"Is she safe?"

"Yes, Eric. She's safe and warm and in bed for the night," I said not giving him any more information than he asked for at the moment. Timing is everything.

"What about this man that she's with? Who is he?"

"His name is Remy Savoy. He relocated here from New Orleans after Katrina. He just began a job about an hour away and is not well off, but is making ends meet. His parents are well, and living in an assisted living community not too far from here. He is a divorcé and guess who his wife was," I inquired open endedly.

"Who Bill," said Eric not caring about the answer.

"Hadley Delahoussaye," and again I left it open ended.

"Sookie's cousin Hadley? She was married?"

"—and divorced from this man before she was turned by our former Queen."

"She never told me about him, or Hadley being married."

"—and you can't ask her about it either since I am not supposed to be spying on her, am I?"

"No," he responded coldly. It was eating him up and I was loving it.

"—and you won't be able to ask her why she kissed him and what it felt like when he kissed her back," I said pointedly.

**GRRRRROWLLLLL! **

"I'll send your report by 2:30 a.m. via e-mail"

"Bill. No more phone calls unless it is an emergency and you need assistance. E-mail me. Let me know she's safe, no matter what she decides to do."

"Yes, Sheriff." _And now you know how I felt when you stole her from me. Asshole._

* * *

**Third Person Narrative**

_---William Compton---Vampire---Age approximately 130 years since being turned---_

_---Last Known Address: Hummingbird Lane, Bon Temps, Renard Parish, LA_

_---Current occupation: Freelance Computer Analyst_

"Hmmm," said Weiss, "how do you like that. A 130-year old computer geek!"

"Explains why he was able to get all that information about Sookie and us. He knows we're out here. Do you think he'll be any trouble?" asked Lattesta.

"I don't think so, but it does compromise our operations a little. What if he talks to her and tells her we've been watching her again. She's bound to be suspicious."

"Maybe he just has the hots for her and follows her around like a puppy dog. Didn't we see him skulking around her house before she disappeared away from us last time? I never could figure out how she got away. She suddenly just vanished into thin air. There are times I wish I could do that!" said Weiss musingly.

"It is—I mean, yes it would be nice—to vanish into thin air, as you say," said Lattesta vaguely. "I suppose we had better go find a hotel and get some shut eye so that we can get to watching her again tomorrow."

"Right," said Weiss again. She sure was getting tired of watching Sookie Stackhouse with this borrowed agent. She wished he'd just make a pass at her. At least that would make the surveillance a little more interesting. She pulled out of the parking spot and made tracks for the nearest hotel. She'd settle for a nice shower and a couple of well placed fingers instead.

***

Once safely deposited at the hotel, "Lattesta" left his hotel room and poofed back to the tree tops to watch the bedroom window where Sookie slept.

* * *

**Bill POV**

**From:-----William Compton William . Compton#gmail . com **

**To:--------Eric Northman BLDSKR#1#gmail . com **

**Date:-----Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 2:30 AM**

**Subject:--URGENT!!! FBI Male Special Agent watching Sookie from the tree top!**

**Eric,**

**Sookie is being watched by the male **_**agent**_** from the tree top. He hasn't noticed me, but I feel I am compromised. How would you like to proceed? DO NOT CALL MY CELL PHONE! I am in the woods typing quietly. Reply via e-mail. Have not located this agent's name in the FBI database.**

**I recommend getting Sookie the hell out of there without rousing suspicions. **

**W. Compton, Investigator**

**Area 5, Louisiana**

**Eric POV**

**From:-----Eric Northman BLDSKR#1#gmail . com **

**To:--------William Compton William . Compton#gmail . com **

**Date:-----Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 2:32 AM**

**Subject:--RE: URGENT!!! FBI Male Special Agent watching Sookie from the tree top!**

**Bill,**

**Get me Savoy's phone number or cell number and then get the hell out of there and go home and secure her property and make sure the witch is still there. Fill her in on everything. I will take care of the rest. That is an order.**

**Eric Northman, Sheriff**

**Area 5, Louisiana**

I had an idea of who that agent was. There are very few people who sit in tree tops and even fewer who can masquerade themselves like Preston can. If he touches her again, I will rip him limb from limb. I mentally hurried Bill along with that phone number. Two minutes later, I was dialing Savoy's house.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I woke up to Remy sitting on the edge of my bed, shaking me gently. I didn't know what time it was, but it was still dark out. "We have to get moving, Sookie."

Moving? "Why? What time is it?" I asked groggily. Surely I had gone to sleep a few minutes ago. It's four in the morning and I just had an urgent call from work saying they need me to work right away since someone didn't show up for his shift.

"Um-okay," I said, feeling more than a little stupid with sleep.

"Sookie, I have to get Hunter ready and I am wondering if we can just go in my car and I will drop you back at Bon Temps and then go to work from there. It's actually closer to your place than here. I've been thinking about moving up your way soon, just so you can see Hunter more often. Would you like that?" he asked hopefully, adding mentally, and _I'd like to see more of you too_. My shields weren't functioning properly with me being this tired.

"Um-okay, sure," I said dopily.

In about five minutes we were in the garage of the house getting into the car. I hadn't even had any coffee, or brushed my teeth, but Remy didn't mind and Hunter was strapped in the back seat asleep. I started to get into the front seat and Remy suddenly said, "Would you mind sitting in the back with Hunter? I don't want him to wake up alone and you can snuggle up and go to sleep again. I am sorry to have woken you like this."

"Um-okay, sure," I vaguely remember saying. I was very sleepy and I couldn't fight staying awake. I seem to recall Remy arranging a blanket over my head like he was trying to cover me up all the way, but didn't pay any mind. I just slept.

***

When I awoke, it was about six in the morning and considerably brighter. I had slept all the way home and was without my car.

_Aunt Sookie?_ I heard a little voice next to me. "Don't worry about your car. Eric will bring it home for you." _Who's Eric?_

_Eric is your uncle. He's a vampire. I'll introduce you to him tomorrow night if you'd like. Would you like to meet him?_ I asked Hunter in thought.

"Yes," he answered out loud. I smiled and thought to him. I_f I think something to you Hunter, you must learn to think the answer back to me._ And then I said, "If I talk out loud to you, you speak the answer out loud to me, understand?"

"I understand Aunt Sookie!"

_Do you understand this way too?_ I reinforced.

_Yes. I this a game?_ He was getting the hang of it.

_Yes. This is a game that only you and I can play!_ I thought smiling at him.

_That sounds fun!_

"Let's say good bye to Daddy then since he has to go to work, and then you can have some breakfast." I watched as he reached his little arms up to Remy's smiling face and gave him a great big hug. It was very sweet and I imagined my three little tykes hugging Eric like that. I took a couple minutes to call him before it got too much lighter. He might already be in bed.

"Sookie? Are you safe?" he said. That was an odd question.

"Eric? Why? Wasn't I?" I countered.

"How would I know," he said evasively, "I didn't know where you were."

"Well, a little bird told me that you were going to have my car brought back safely," I said with some amount of gratitude. _He'd made it his life's new job to protect me whether or not I wanted it. Well, Mr. Northman, I surrender! I'm yours and you can protect me to your heart's content._ I thought to myself.

"So Savoy told you about it?" he said in a caught-with-your-hand-in-the-cookie-jar way.

I laughed, "Yes! _Mr_. Savoy told me about it." I couldn't help thinking that he was confusing the two, or maybe that he hadn't done his homework as well as I had and didn't know about Hunter.

"So, I suppose you love him now, too?" he said with veiled sarcasm.

"I don't know him very well yet, but I have a certain spot in my heart for him, that's for sure. So will you come and see me tonight? I want to introduce you to you _competition_," I teased.

"I'll come long enough to make sure you are safe. I must rest now. Good bye, Sookie" he said with sincere finality.

_Oh dear. Poor Vampire Eric._ I thought sarcastically. _I asked you to stay away and you only lasted a few hours. You are going to have to take you punishment like a man, and worry that I've moved on to someone new. Little do you know that _my new someone_ is only a pre-schooler! _Ha! He'll find out soon enough.

* * *

A/N: I know, mean old Sookie! Punishing Eric like that when he was trying to protect her! Shameful!

My apologies for the attempt at putting in an e-mail address. This program doesn't like (at) signs or . coms unless they are spaced, but you get the picture!

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Ms. Charlaine Harris, author extraordinaire. Thanks for allowing us to enjoy your characters until the next book!


	18. Chapter 17 Get Togethers

**Chapter 18 Get Togethers**

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* * *

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**Third Person Narrative**

Preston morphed back into Special Agent Lattesta. Following Sookie all day and watching her kiss Savoy in the kitchen had made him hornier than hell. He had sensed arousal of his "partner" Agent Weiss in the car over the past couple days. He wasn't particularly attracted to her, but needs were needs, so he made his move.

He poofed right into her room. She'd fallen asleep on her bedspread with one towel wrapped around her head and one around her body. The one on her body had slipped off a little to reveal her naked torso. He started at her feet, lifting her left leg, running his tongue down her inner shin past her knee to her inner thigh. He knelt on the floor and pulled her down the bed toward his waiting mouth. He wanted to see how long it would take before she woke up and realized what was happening. Each dart of the tongue solicited increasing moaning.

Suddenly, her pulse increased and her hands grasped his hair and pulled. She was sitting up instantly, panting. "Tom," she said as she brought her mouth down hard on his. He pounced back and impaled her, bringing them both to a climax. _Sookie_. He thought to himself.

* * *

**Eric POV**

I arrived at Sookie's house on Hummingbird Lane, and felt mad and paranoid as hell that my prize, my own jewel in the crown was making eyes at yet _another_ suitor. Ever since I met her I'd been slowly turning her heart toward _me_, and just when she's within my grasp to claim, along comes another man to sway her his way. Not this time. I'm fighting this time—to the death if necessary.

I floated around the house for a minute and surveyed the property and looked for a new car. I saw none, so I went to the front door and knocked, confused. I'd gotten flowers on the way over and presented them to Sookie when she opened the door.

"Oh Eric!" She said as she flung her arms around my neck pulling herself up to my in a big hug. "Oh Eric, they're beautiful. I'll just go and put them in some water. Perhaps you could hang your coat up and I will bring you some blood? There's someone I want to introduce you to."

"Sure," I said morosely. _Sure I want you to cut my cold dead heart to shreds even more_. I thought.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

_Well, he sure is pouty about this little introduction! Serves him right!_ I thought. I smiled and motioned for him to come in the door.

_Aunt Sookie? What serves Eric right? Can I meet him? Please?_ Asked Hunter who was at the table coloring with Amelia, who was broadcasting loud and clear on the Sookie station. I hoped she'd be able to keep her mind relatively neutral and non-gossipy this evening. I didn't want Hunter to be surprised.

_In just a minute. I need to talk to Eric alone. Do you remember how to put up your shields like I taught you?_ Big head nod. _Good boy_. I thought at him and winked.

I went into the living room, expecting to be swept up in a big hug and kiss session, but I was mistaken. "Eric?" I asked softly coming to stand by him where he'd sat down.

He put his head on my stomach and spoke softly in his ancient language. It was a little rhythmic poem, like a nursery rhyme, from what I could determine. "Eric? There's something I need to say to you. Are you listening?"

"Yes, my lov-Sookie. Tell me what you need to tell me, and I will leave you alone."

"Leave me alone?"

"Yes, it is clearly what you want. You no longer desire me or my company."

"Clearly, you have no idea that I want you, but then you are sometimes a bit dim! I love _you_ and _only _you, you foolish Viking!"

"What?" he asked as his eyes sparkled.

I smiled back at him and leaned into a kiss. His response was immediate and shocking. He stood up from the couch, and took me silently into my bathroom and shut the door. He carried me further into the bathroom and shut that door too.

My clothes were off in a matter of seconds as I was saying, "Eric WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I have company!"

"Sookie. Sookie. Sookie." He groaned my name with each kiss. He was bracing me up on the smooth wall of my shower and kissing my breasts, rubbing the nipples gently with his fangs. It felt so good, like I'd never known pleasure this good before.

"Eric!" I gasped.

"Look at me Sookie," he said with sudden seriousness, his blue eyes meeting mine. "Look at me."

I looked. He stopped what he was doing and focused his eyes into mine. I don't know if he thought he'd try to glamour me one more time, but he looked pretty darn desperate. I knew what he needed to hear and I said it. "Eric. I love you. I am yours and yours alone. I belong to you and only you. Is that what you need to hear me say?"

He sighed, shut his eyes, and bent his head down. "Yes."

I pulled his chin up (he let me) so that I could see his eyes again. I thrust my mouth on his and kissed him hard my tongue rolling over his fangs and tickling the rough of his mouth. He responded and pushed his whole body against mine. I could feel his hardness against my stomach and felt the urgency to have it in me. Eric must have sensed this and thrust himself in me in one rapid movement.

Ungh! "Oh Eric, ERIC, **ERIC**" I moaned his name louder and louder with each subsequent thrust. I couldn't take anymore and I began to shudder in my climax just as he was reaching his height. He stood there and held me, and whispered sweet words in his native tongue. In English he spoke, "My life is forfeit without you. Never leave me again. That's an order—not a request. You are my wife and you will obey me on this—this time…please?" He added at the end.

He was still in me as I had my legs wrapped around him. I kept looking at him—staring into those blue eyes. I could feel him getting bigger inside, and I wanted to respond with some quick snappy rejoinder, but wasn't able to because he started rocking my body again, gently and rhythmically. "Okay," I said absently, "okay, okay, okay….Ouch!" He nipped me and let a small amount of blood escape from the bite before sealing it. In shock, I bit him back and drew a little nip of his blood, and he came like a son-of-a-bitch. I did too—I'd lost track of how many I'd had.

"STOP" he barked. "Don't move. What did you just say?"

"I said," I told him, still panting from the man orgasms of the evening, "okay."

"Okay to what…" he wanted me to repeat what I just promised? Well, fine then I would, but I was going to through back his own words at him and maybe paraphrase a little too.

"I said okay to your life being forfeit without me. I understand that you are desperately gaga over me, my bonded. I said okay, I'd never leave you again, so you'd better prepare to fight with me and you better prepare for me to nag you about things, and I reserve the right to slam a door or two in your face too. I said okay to accepting a direct order from you just this once for only this matter. And finally, I said okay that I agreed I was your wife already, even though we are _still_ formalizing this for my sake and the State's sake and you are not getting out of it that easily. Then I said ouch to you biting me since I wasn't expecting it.

"Now," I said wiggling myself off of him, "we have company. I want you to meet the new man in my life!"

I pulled my hair up quickly, so it wouldn't get wet, and Eric just stood there looking at me—confused, so I hopped in the shower and turned it on pulling him in with me. I smiled contentedly at him and pushed happiness to him over the bond. That seemed to make it worse in return. Still, he just stood there, looking at me, so I washed us both off and turned the shower off and began drying us—all the time he was looking at me. The feelings emanating from him were beginning to get worse—anger?—no—jealousy?—YES!

"Eric? Is there a problem?" I asked, even though I suspected what it was.

"Sookie…" he began when he finally spoke. He seemed to be trying to formulate what he wanted to say, so I put my hand up to his mouth to signal for him to stop. I told him to get dressed and he did, but he was still being very strange.

"Come on," I said as I took his hand in mine.

"Sookie, I can't-"

I stopped him and smiled and kissed his forehead. "Just come on, silly old Viking!"

Reluctantly, he followed me into the kitchen where Amelia and Hunter were sitting at the table. They both looked up at us. Immediately, Amelia crooked her eyebrow questioningly and I shot her a don't-walk-down-that-path look. I'd tell her later anyway, just not now.

Hunter leaped up from the table and ran to hug me. I hugged him back and he said, "Is this Uncle Eric?"

The bond shot forth feelings of relief, then high amusement and mild revenge…in that order. Eric turned to look at me and said, "_Uncle_ Eric?" with dark and playful eyes.

"Eric Northman, please meet my little cousin, Hunter Savoy. Hunter, this is Uncle Eric that I was telling you about." _Please say hello to him, and remember if I think at you, you think back, if I speak out loud, you speak back, okay?_

_Okay Aunt Sookie_. "Hello, Uncle Eric, pleased to meet you," Hunter said politely putting out his hand for Eric to shake. Eric surprised me by taking his little hand and shaking it and crouching down to Hunter's level so he didn't seem so scary.

Hunter responded to Eric immediately and pulled him over to the table to show him what he'd been drawing. I watched in amazement as Eric sat down and took Hunter up in his lap. Hunter was showing him the picture of the flowers Eric had just brought to me. "Would you like it?" he asked Eric.

"I sure would little one. It is the nicest picture I have ever received. You are a wonderful artist," Eric said. As he spoke I could feel contentment and pride spilling forth over the bond. Eric looked up at me and winked. I grinned.

"Okay Hunter. Say goodnight to Miss Amelia and Uncle Eric. It's time for bed. Do you want to see your room? It used to be mine when I was little."

_Can Uncle Eric read a book to me?_ Hunter thought at me.

_If you ask him out loud, maybe he will. Remember to say please._ I thought back.

"Uncle Eric? Would you read a book to me? Please?"

"Of course," he said and whisked past me with little Hunter in his arms. I followed to get Hunter's jammies out of his bag and to make sure he brushed his teeth. Once he was all settled, he chose a book for Eric to read to him. He climbed under the covers and I kissed him goodnight. Eric sat next to him on the bed and began to read. I left the room awash in my own feelings of happiness and pride.


	19. Chapter 18 Talking

**Chapter 18 Talking**

**A/N: I apologize! I called the last chapter 18, but this is the real 18. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.**

* * *

"_Uncle Eric? Would you read a book to me?" _

"_Of course," he said and whisked past me with little Hunter in his arms. I followed to get Hunter's jammies out of his bag and to make sure he brushed his teeth. Once he was all settled, he chose a book for Eric to read to him. He climbed under the covers and I kissed him goodnight. Eric sat next to him on the bed and began to read. I left the room awash in my own feelings of happiness and pride._

* * *

Sookie POV

It had been about a half an hour since I walked out of Hunter's room, leaving him with Eric. I was _very_ quietly telling Amelia about our shower while she was quickly downing a sweet tea and fanning herself from the tale.

"I miss Tray," she said winsomely. "I'm sorry. I am determined not to be miserable and sad. I had a great thing with Tray and I do miss him, but missing him isn't going to bring him back. I am going to honor him by getting on with my life and living it to the fullest."

"We haven't really talked about this have we? I will always feel guilty that he died protecting me. If I hadn't needed my car fixed, he might never have gotten mixed up in all this Fae War business. I don't know what I can ever do to make it up to you."

"For the record, I think I blamed you at first, but time is telling me that is isn't your fault. Let's decide not to discuss Tray anymore and we'll both move on. Sookie, you are like a sister to me now, and my best friend. I don't ever want to lose that friendship again."

"Me, neither—love you," I said leaning over the table to give her a big hug. I was touched.

"Love you too, Sook!" she replied.

It was at that moment that Eric walked in and caught the last bit of our exchange. "Ladies, have I walked into something I should know about?" he said with wide eyes, but a smirky grin. He came close enough to me while I was rolling my eyes at him and I feigned a smack on his behind. He just smiled.

Amelia excused herself to go upstairs to bed claiming that she was really, _really_ tired. I offered Eric a bottle of blood and he said yes, so I threw on in the microwave. I was pretty tired myself and I didn't know how long he was going to be staying tonight. We retired to the living room and sat on the couch. I nestled in between his legs with my back to his chest and just put my head against him and turned my head toward his neck to look at him. He looked down at me.

"This is nice," I whispered contentedly.

"Nice?" he returned, "This is fabulous."

"Homey," I offered additionally.

"Yes, homey," he agreed. "Speaking of homey, and homes, and so forth, can you please tell me if you are going to be living with me at some point in our relationship?" he went on to ask.

Oh boy. This was grown up stuff. Suddenly I was nervous—really nervous. Like what I answered here would point the direction that the rest of my life would go. Like what I said here would ultimately define my very being. I decided evasiveness would be the best tack, so I said, "I don't know. What do you think? What do you want?"

"Sookie, darling Sookie, why are you nervous around me?" he asked as his arms wrapped around me tighter, "I will respect whatever decision you decide to make. As long as I am with you, Sookie, I am happy. Now back to my question: do you think that you want to live with me? If so, at my house, or yours. If not, well…"

I turned to face him as much as possible. My nerves were racking as I answered, "Yes Eric, I want to live with you. I love you."

"Good answer, now where and when," he said unrelentlessly. "I am tired of this back and forth business. I don't think you should live here anymore. I can protect you better if you are with me longer during the day. I love you and need you to be with me…at my home."

"Leaving the house I grew up in…," I said kissing his neck gently and looking back up to his eyes. "Arrgh! I just want-I mean I coul-I, well I, oohh…" I said squeezing my eyes shut saying, "fine. Okay. I will move in with you." Phew! Wow. I actually felt better now that I made a commitment to moving. Was I nuts? Moving? Oh dear. The nerves were back.

Eric was just shaking with laughter at all the different emotions I was sending down the bond. "Would you calm down?" he said. "You are just a bundle of nerves. If you are so unsure, here's what we'll do. You pack up what you need to live every day, clothes, soaps, books, movies…and we'll move that over to my house in Shreveport—neutral territory, sort of—and I'll make sure everything is paid for here and kept running and in good shape. I'm not asking you to sell your family home, just give my house a shot," he pleaded, adding, "Just let me take care of you."

Wow. Big moment. Let me take care of you. "When," was all I could think of to day. "It can't be before I am done taking care of Hunter. And what about work?"

"You don't need to work. You don't need the money for any reason. It's harder to protect you when you are working."

"But I need to be out in public, remember? I told you about this. I need to be by people so I can practice shielding myself from them and I can't be shut up in a box alone all day like a doll, to be taken out at night when the big bad vampire wants to play with me. I don't function like that and you know it!"

I could feel his body tense at my little outburst. "Sookie, would you consider working for some place in Shreveport at least?" he said in a very controlled way.

I hadn't thought of that—DAMN that was one of my best arguments for not making this huge commitment. I had already committed to marrying him, so why moving in together was a big deal to me was beyond me. "You don't really want me to work at Fangtasia, do you?" I teased trying to keep the topic light.

He laughed heartily at that and said, "No, dear one, I think that would be very bad for business. You are much too…sweet, innocent, pure…" kissing my face with each reason.

"Goody-goody?" I offered.

"Yes. Why not try something other than waitressing?"

"Like what? I have no post-secondary education, so I can't really get anything but low paying jobs and I refuse to work at Wal-mart or McDonald's. I'll scrap this whole idea before I did that."

His eyes lit up in annoyance and he admonished, "No, you are moving, you promised! You gave me an idea though. Why not try to go to school again. You are much better at blocking people and it will give you something to do to pass the time and something to work toward, plus don't forget, you are going to be the mother of three little babies. You might not have much time for anything else."

"Probably not even you!" I teased.

"Not funny," he smiled.

"There's one snag in that plan."

"What?"

"Money."

"Here we go again. Sookie, money is not now, nor will ever be a problem. You are, or will be soon my legal wife and you will entitled to everything I possess. Money shouldn't ever factor into your decision making process."

"So you've never told me how well off you are. How much are we talking?" I queried and he leaned over and whispered in my ear. "Huh? Whisper it again, I don't think I heard you right." He did. I had heard it right. I sat and thought about that for a moment. No wonder he always laughs at me when I fuss about a few thousand dollars to pay my property taxes, or I am so insistent to work. I asked the next question, "So tell me Sugar Daddy, how did you amass (Word of the Day) this small fortune?"

"It isn't small but tell me what a _sugar daddy_ is first."

My turn to laugh. "A sugar daddy is a wealthy man who buys his less affluent girlfriend stuff, presents, and so forth in exchange for companionship, or sex."

"I hardly fit the description since you won't ever let me buy you things."

"Oh come on," I argued back, "you fixed up my driveway; gave me a $15,000 dollar bonus on top of the lavish $35,000 price tag for taking care of you for 4 days; you bought me a coat; you've bought me clothes; sent me flowers; paid for airline tickets; paid for hospital bills, etc."

"Sookie, the driveway was an eyesore and a necessity for my car. It would have gotten ruined otherwise. Pam shouldn't have bargained my care down to $35,000, so that bonus was not really a gift, but money earned. The clothes and the airline tickets were as part of a business trip—the hospital bills for that matter too. The coat was just to replace the old one that got ruined and that was for your protection and the flowers, well poor men still send flowers.

"Yes they do, and thank you again for the beautiful bouquet you brought tonight. Sugar Daddy, you can always get me flowers and I won't complain," I said and yawned. I was getting tired and sleepy.

"You need to go to bed. You've had a long day today."

"No not yet. You're talkative, so let finish talking about this. When should I move out?"

"You said after Hunter was gone, right? How long were you watching him?"

"Right. It was supposed to be two weeks from this coming Monday, but then Remy's boss called, and had him go to work for someone else today, so Hunter is just staying here and Remy's going to visit him here instead of at home, so three weeks from today I guess."

"Well, let's make it a month from today that gives you plenty of packing time afterward. Sookie, if you don't want to live with me after trying it, just say so and I will understand."

"Thanks, and I'll hold you to that you know."

"Unfortunately I know you will. I've given you too much leverage."

"Well, you can't bargain it back you know!" That made a grin play about my Viking's face. I am sure he could and would find some way to bargain it back to his favor. Mr. High Handed! I decided to change the topic entirely and said, "Eric, would you like me to rearrange my next doctor's appointment with Dr. Ludwig so that you can be there too?"

"If you'd like to. What does the visit entail?"

"Well, I think measuring me to see how much I've grown and listening to heartbeats and exams, or something—maybe. I'm not really sure. I still have to buy some books, and…what are you doing?" by this time he'd left me sitting on the couch while he crouched next to it lifting my shirt up and pulling the top of my pants down. He wasn't after sex, just my belly. I reached out and stroked his hair absently and scooted down the couch to flatten out for him. "Are you listening?"

"Yes. I hadn't thought about it before, but I bet that I can hear the heartbeats without a stethoscope."

"And can you?"

"Well, the mother's nagging voice is precluding me from—OUCH! Stop that!" I had flicked him with my finger on his temple and gave him a look of indignation, albeit through a grin.

"Seriously, can you?"

He shut his eyes and rested his head on my abdomen. We were both silent for a few minutes. It was one of those moments that you remember for the rest of your life—spontaneous perfection. After some time he replied in a whisper, "Yes. I can hear their little hearts beating. Two of them are faster than the other and all of them faster than yours. You should go to bed if you are going to get up early with Hunter tomorrow, and I need to get back to Fangtasia."

"You're right, I am very tired, " I said standing up and walking him to the door.

* * *

A/N: More to come...several twists and several fluffy chapters too...


	20. Chapter 19 The Morning After

**Chapter 19 **

_You should go to bed if you are going to get up early with Hunter tomorrow, and I need to get back to Fangtasia."_

"_You're right, I am very tired," I said standing up and walking him to the door._

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**Eric POV**

I leaned in to kiss Sookie. Her body melted next to mine as we held each other at the door. I wanted her as much as I did every night, but tonight I just wanted to stay with her and watch her sleep. I whispered in her ear, "Sookie, would you like me to stay?" She just remained where she was. I loosened my grip a bit and she started falling toward the floor. I had to chuckle. She _really_ was tired—dead on her feet. Maybe not so funny when I thought of it that way.

I scooped her up and carried her back toward her bedroom. I was thinking all the time how nice it would be when a bedroom was our bedroom, not hers or mine, but ours. She was mumbling cute little things like, "so tired gotta get to bed," and "get the coffee ready for Amelia." Once she opened her eyes and smiled at me and said, "Love you, baby," and then went back to sleep. After I got her undressed, I stayed for a little while just to watch her and breathe in her delicious aroma. Carefully, I kissed her one last time for the night and went outside. I knew he'd be waiting there for me.

"Bill."

"Eric."

"I want to have 'round-the-clock surveillance on her until she comes to live with me," I told him. I didn't need to say that last bit, but rubbing it in was just plain fun.

"She said yes. Does she know what she's giving up? Is she going to be selling her house?"

"From her perspective, she's not giving anything up, and really she's not. She'll be treated like a queen, pampered the way I want to pamper her. She'll have her children and they'll take up all her time. She won't notice that she isn't working for the shifter at that fleabag bar. She's made her choice, Bill, and she chose me over everyone and everything else." There, Bill. It's me, not you, so deal with it.

"Did you ask her why she was kissing Savoy?" he said in retaliation.

"No, and I am not going to. I am learning to respect her privacy and she's learning to let down her guard. So, Bill, why did you not tell me about the child?" I inquired.

"What child?"

"Savoy's son, Hunter." Could he not know?

"I ran a back ground check on Savoy and there's no mention of any children."

"Well, this Hunter is very much Sookie's cousin Hadley's little boy. And he's a telepath just like Sookie."

"How do you know? Did Sookie tell you?"

"She didn't have to. I watched their exchanges. Neither of them is good enough to stop making facial gestures to go along with their thoughts. It gives them away. I will tell Sookie that and have her teach him, and herself, how not to do that. Bill, I don't want anyone else to know about this and I forbid you to speak of it to anyone. That is an order."

"Yes Eric, understood," he said curtly.

"And one more thing," I said, bringing the conversation to a close, "I am extending my protection to Hunter and his father. Protect them the same as you would Sookie. Where is the father?"

"He went home after work."

"Find him and find out some way to convince him to come and stay at Sookie's house. He's not safe at his own house. Good night Bill."

"Good night Eric."

* * *

**Third Person Narrative**

"Tom," said Special Agent Weiss, kicking his naked body with her shoe. "Wake up and have some coffee you lazy S-O-B!" She grinned at him, clearly smitten.

_Oh great_, he thought sarcastically to himself. "Oh thanks, Sara."

_Great in bed, just what the doctor ordered, but there's something off about Tom. I can't quite put my finger on it_, thought Weiss. "About last night…" said Weiss in an obligatory way.

"It never happened," Lattesta said aloud. To himself he thought_, I wish it had never happened, with you anyway._

"Good. Our target hasn't moved. The car is still in the same spot," said Weiss checking her tracking device. "Let's roll."

Preston, as Lettesta, and Weiss made their way from the two-bit hotel they were staying at to the Savoy residence in Red Ditch. Nothing from last night had changed except that Savoy's car was back, but in the driveway and not the garage as it had been. They'd only watched the residence since Sookie had pulled in two nights ago, but this seemed a little off. "I'm going to knock on the door," Lattesta said absently, not really to Weiss, but more to himself.

"Are you insane? Did you actually graduate from Quantico or did someone pay your way!" Weiss said as Lattesta shot her a dirty look.

_Can she tell?_ He thought. "I'm just going to stir things up a bit…don't worry, I can pretend to be anyone and get away with it," he told her. _If she only knew!_

Lattesta walked, bold as brass, up to the front door and rang the bell. No one came. He walked nonchalantly to the window on the front porch and peeked in. No movement. He left the front porch and took a walk around the house into the back yard. There was no sound—no movement. Where was Savoy? His car was there. Where was Sookie? Her car was there. He'd lost them! _DAMN!_ He thought to himself. "They're on to me."

**Sookie POV**

* * *

I woke up in the morning with a vague recollection of Eric putting me in bed. I could hear a little voice in the kitchen with Amelia. I had almost forgot that Hunter was here. I flew out of bed and threw my robe on and brushed my teeth and went out to join them both.

"Aunt Sookie, Aunt Sookie!" said Hunter smiling and flying himself up into my arms. "Look who's here! Look who's here!" And I looked up to see the Remy was at the table, engrossed in conversation with Amelia. I stared at the two of them for a moment and a little light bulb went off in my head, and suddenly I had the song _Matchmaker_ from _Fiddler on the Roof_ going through my head. I wondered…

I coughed loudly to clear my throat and make an obvious interruption. The two of them looked up startled. "When did you get up?" said Amelia, smiling coyly at me.

"I got up a couple minutes ago and I've been standing here for about a minute watching y'all talking," I winked at her as I said this. "How long have you been here Remy?"

"About an hour ago. I was just getting to know Amelia. How come you didn't tell me you had such a beautiful roommate?" he said.

"Oh Remy!" said Amelia, blushing. It was at that precise moment that my stomach decided it didn't like the eggs and coffee smell from the kitchen. I flew into the bathroom off of the hall and threw up. I hadn't done that in a couple of days.

"Are you all right?" they both called simultaneously from the kitchen.

"Fine," I returned dully getting up from the porcelain worship position. "I'll be just fi-no," I managed to blurt out before I hurled again.

_Are you okay Aunt Sookie?_ I heard Hunter think.

_I'm fine Hunter. Can you tell your dad and Miss Amelia that I'm okay? _He did and Amelia came in to help me out.

"You are going back to bed and I will bring you some water or tea," she said mothering me.

"Fine for a while, but I have to go to work tonight. Sam's expecting me."

"We'll see…you just go back and rest."

"Yes mother!" I sneered at her playfully. My head hit the pillow and I was out.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry this is a short chapter and doesn't really go anywhere, but there are some elements of it that will pop up toward the end…stay intrigued and review often!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own these lovely characters!


	21. Chapter 20 Remy & Amelia

**Chapter 20 Remy & Amelia**

"_You are going back to bed and I will bring you some water or tea," she said mothering me._

* * *

**Sookie POV**

When I woke up again, it was 11 a.m. and I felt fine. I stood up, showered and went out to the kitchen. No nausea. Great. Now I was really hungry. I made myself a sandwich with a big tall glass of milk. Amelia and Remy with Hunter on his shoulders came back inside from the outdoors and asked how I was feeling.

"I'm actually feeling 100 percent better now that I've has something to eat and a nap. I need to go and pick something up at the bookstore in town, and since Amelia is the only one with a car, how would everyone like to go with me?" I asked hoping they all would. It would be a nice excursion.

"Sounds fine to me, Hunter would you like to go shopping?" Remy asked his son.

"Yes! Yes! Can I get a treat?" he responded.

"Sure," said Amelia answering him, "I'll buy you anything you want little guy!"

"Now don't spoil him Amelia. You might regret that later on…" Remy said; his voice trailing away like he was speaking out of school.

"What's going on that I missed during my cat nap?" I asked in general to either of them looking from one to the other.

_Amelia is going to be my new mommy,_ thought Hunter. I looked down at him and then up at the two of them. They understood that I knew.

"Well," said Amelia, "you've heard of love at first site, right?" I nodded, eyes wide—the grin on my face getting gradually bigger with each nod.

"Yes," I said

"Remy's asked me to marry him," she said.

"And I said O! K! I like Amelia. She colors with me. I want a mommy!" spouted Hunter jumping up and down. "And I get to be a ring-bear. GRRRRR!" he shouted growling and making air claws with his hands.

We all laughed at him and told him how cute he was. Suddenly a wave of emotion fell over me and I was in tears.

"Are you okay, Sookie?" Remy asked as Amelia rushed to my shoulders to hug me.

"I'm fine, it's just so beautiful," sob sob sob, "and I don't know why I am crying!" That solicited more giggles from Remy and Amelia. When I had calmed my emotions down a bit, I said, "Aren't you rushing into this?"

"Yes, but neither of us feel that it is going to be a problem. We are just going to agree that we'll have some problems along the way and we'll just deal with them. Come on, people have gotten married with less introduction than we have had, right Remy? This just feels right."

"Right, honey. Besides I have never seen Hunter so taken with any woman I've brought home. He's just thrilled with Amelia, and so am I," said Remy in agreement, smiling and raising his eyebrows suggestively at Amelia.

"Okay," I said in a bewildered way. "So when are you getting married and where are you going to live?"

"Well Sookie," said Amelia, "I was hoping we could get married at the house here and stay here for a while until we can find something…and…," she took a deep breath, "we are going to get married this Saturday! Really small, with just _close_ family and friends. We'd get married in the evening, so Eric and Bill and Pam could come and then Remy has to go on his training for work for a couple weeks and then we are going on a small honeymoon somewhere. Nothing super fancy—just a simple affair."

"You are both crazy!" said I told them, rolling my eyeballs to the ceiling and grinning from cheek to cheek. What were they thinking! But then, who was I to say, after all my betrothed was a vampire! "You can have the wedding here. I'm happy for you both and thanks for having it later so that Pam, Bill and Eric can go too, that's nice."

"We were hoping that maybe Jason can stand for Remy, since he's family, but that requires you to introduce them first!"

"True. I'll invite him over for supper tonight, so we'll need to stop at the store. I'll invite Eric too, if that's okay?"

"It's your house!" said Amelia. _Oh I wish I could just ask her_…she thought.

"Just ask me," I said grinning.

"Did I project that?" she said chagrinned. "Can we still live here after we are married, that is, after the honeymoon?"

I threw my arms around her. "That would be wonderful. I would only be here for a couple weeks after that though, because I am moving out to go live with Eric. Why don't you two just live here from now on? It's Hunter's family home too, so it would be nice for him to get to know the place."

"Pregnant, engaged to Eric AND moving in together, life is moving pretty fast for you isn't it! Are you stressed?"

"Pretty much!" I said, sounding a bit overwhelmed. "Hey you know what would relieve all this undue stress?"

"Shopping?" suggested Amelia.

"Shopping!" I agreed. Remy scooped up Hunter and we all went out to Amelia's car.

Shopping went well and Amelia and I picked out several "how to have a baby" books at the book store. I got one for Eric entitled _How to be a Great Dad: 101 Tips for the Modern American Father_—I just couldn't resist the title. I knew it would make him smile.

* * *

When we got back home, I decided to arrange the dinner for the evening. I called and left a message on the Eric's cell. I knew he'd be there. I also told him to invite Pam if she wanted to come. I called Bill and told him to come over about the time I thought that dinner would be done since I knew he wouldn't like to watch us all eat. Then I called Jason and immediately got a hold of him, which was quite unusual.

"Hey Jason!" I said as brightly as I could.

"Hey sis, what's up?" he said equally as brightly.

"I want you to come over for dinner tonight and meet a few people."

"Oh that sounds good. I haven't had a good home cooked meal since-" he didn't finish the sentence, but I knew where he was going with it.

"Since Gran died?"

"Yes, since Gran died."

"Well, I can't promise that it will be as good, but I planned on making your favorites that she used to make for you. So, can you come?"

"I'll be there. Who else is coming?" Here goes nothing.

"Hmm…do you remember our cousin Hadley?"

"Yes, she used to beat me up if I played tricks on you when we were little. But she's dead now. Are you telling me you've resurrected her or something?"

"No you dumbass! It was a rhetorical question." Rhetorical was a Word of the Day last week. "Hadley was a vampire and had been for about three years before her final death, but before that she was married."

"Married? No shit!" he said puffing a big breath out. I could almost see eyes bugging out and his cheeks bulging with the puff as his lips pursed together. His was probably running through his hair too—typical Jason!

"Yes, married, and that's not all. She and her husband, his name is Remy Savoy, they had a little boy right before she left him and got turned by the Queen of Louisiana. His name is Hunter. Anyway, they'll both be there and Eric, Pam and Bill, and Amelia of course and me, and you, so that's a happy eight!" I said as brightly as possible. I knew what was coming.

"How long have you known about Hadley's family?"

"Only a couple months."

"Did you think for one moment that I might want to know that I have more family too? Christ, Sookie! You're all I got! I only briefly met our _wonderful_ great grandfather before he upped and vanished. So, Sookie tell me. Why does everyone want you and no one wants me?"

"That's not true, Jason, I want you. You're my big brother and no matter how many other relatives come crawling out of the woodwork, you're the closest one I have, and the most important—always."

"Thanks, Sookie," he said sniffing…was he crying?

"Will you still come?"

"Come? Of course I'll come Sookie. I miss you and I want to be a part of your life, like we were when we were kids. We used to be close until all this vamp-"

"Don't say vampire shit!" I warned.

"Fine, but we used to be closer. I want my sister back."

"Well, you can start by coming over tonight for dinner, will you?"

"Yes, of course." Wow. Was my big brother actually growing up?

"I'll see you at 8 p.m. sharp!"

"Not if I see you first!" Click. Always has to have the last word!

* * *

As I was preparing food around 3 p.m., it donned on me that needed to shift my appointment for another time for Dr. Ludwig to visit. I gave her a call. She wasn't too pleased about the switch on short notice. But nonetheless, the visit rescheduled from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. which cost extra for evening hours, but I knew Eric would have no problem paying.

I also had to call Sam to tell him I couldn't make it in to work that night and I wasn't sure how much longer I would be able to work as my situation was changing so much. He was a little annoyed at me for the short notice, but he understood and said he would start looking for my replacement. I thought I caught him say under his breath, "as if I could find your replacement," but I wasn't sure, so I let it go.

The dinner party was a howling success and no one seemed to mind at all that I was double booked for the evening. I was so pleased that everyone got along so well together. Remy and Jason hit is off like two peas in a pod. Bill and Eric behaved themselves. Pam flirted with Jason, like she usually does and Hunter kept us laughing all night.

* * *

At nine, Dr. Ludwig showed up for my appointment. I apologized to everyone and slipped into my bedroom with Eric and the doctor. Remy apologized and said he had to put Hunter to bed. Amelia went in to help. Bill had decided to go home early, but Jason said he wanted to stay to hear about my condition and make sure everything was all right and Pam stayed because Eric had driven them in the Corvette. I secretly think that neither she nor Jason were too upset at having been left in the living room alone with each other and that's probably why everyone else suddenly found other things to do. Whatever kind of flirting they were up to, they were doing it quietly. Thank God!

Having made our excuses, Eric and Dr. Ludwig and I went into my bedroom where I laid down on the bed for her to examine my hands and feet and listen to my belly again. She took another sample of blood and ran a few tests on it while I waited for the results.

"Hmm…this confirms my suspicions. I have thought for a long time now that something was quite right about that Preston Pardloe and now I know just what it is!" she said with a wry smile on her face.

"I don't care what's wrong with him, are the babies okay?" inquired Eric. I could feel through the bond that he was a little panicky about it. I actually had to send him a wave of calm through the bond to get him to settle down. Now that's a first!

Ludwig spoke, "I suspected a long time ago, during that _other incident_, you remember the one Eric, that Preston wasn't a total Faery…he only pretends to be. He's actually part shifter, which is how he can mask his identity. It isn't special Faery trait, he's a cross breed. When I ran further blood work just now, it revealed that the babies are not 56% Fae/44% human, but are 44% human/31% Fae/25% true shifter, hence the ability that Preston has to mask the identity of other species. As a result, your babies will likely not have that ability to shift, or to do anything special Fae realm, but their Fae blood will make them likeable to humans and vampires too. They will be _very_ loved."

Eric spoke again, "How does this explain the first reaction that I had to Sookie when I tasted her blood a week ago?"

Dr. Ludwig thought for a moment. "I think Eric, that you over-reacted to the extra Fae in Sookie's blood. It was more than you anticipated due to the babies' influence. Once you temper yourself to it, and get used to it, you'll build up sort of an immunity to it. Does that make sense to you?"

"It makes sense to me," I chimed in, getting tired of people talking about me rather than to me. Hello? Pregnant person down here, not just egg sac? I continued, "It's like a person never having had a drink before getting buzzed on two beers, when an alcoholic has to slam a 1/5 of gin to feel anything."

"Am I a drunkard?" asked Eric, innocently, but with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes!" I snapped back at him, with a little less of a twinkle.

The good doctor interrupted by asking if we'd like to listen to the heartbeats. We both nodded. Swish-swish, swish-swish, swish-swish, went the three little heartbeats. Eric and I both held hands and smiled at each other. Dr. Ludwig looked confused. She kept listening over and over, moving the listening device around and around. She gave me a funny look.

"What is it!" I said panicked. "Tell me, don't hide it from me. Is something wrong?"

"Calm down Sookie," said Eric soothingly, "Everything is all right. Shhh, calm down."

"Please tell me?" I begged.

"You'll do well to listen to this vampire of yours, I just thought I heard another heart beating in there, but I was mistaken. It was just one of them moving around quickly, playing hide and seek."

"Oh thank God!" I said. Four, now that would be frightening! "Three's quite enough for me!"

Eric smirked.

"Well, if you two don't mind, I need to get going now. I have another patient to go to."

We both thanked her and reconvened in the living room with what remained of our company.

* * *

**A/N:** I am sorry I haven't posted in a couple days, but I needed to re"vamp" my plotline and mapping. I have a better handle on it now, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the wonderful Harris characters.


	22. Chapter 21 Happenings & Discoveries

**Chapter 21 Happenings and Discoveries**

"_Well, if you two don't mind, I need to get going now. I have another patient to go to."_

_We both thanked her and reconvened in the living room with what remained of our company._

* * *

**Eric POV**

Sookie and I went back to join the others. Bill left the party early to go on guard duty at my direction. He didn't even seem to mind as the smell of food was getting to him even though the meal itself had long since been consumed.

The conversation was rolling along very well as I got up to get a True Blood for Pam and myself. No one else wanted anything to drink. When I came back down the hall from the kitchen into the living room, I paused. Sookie was a vision. She was laughing with her brother and Remy and telling tales about Hadley. Amelia was laughing too and Pam was taking it all in stride. As amused as she gets over most things. I felt Sookie's happiness and saw it in her face. I made a mental note to remember this night—this moment—in particular, for the rest of my existence.

She looked up at me and smiled a broad smile and sent such feelings of pride through our bond that all I could do was stand there and grin back a real sappy, cheesy, and as she would say dumb-ass grin! She looked away first to laugh at Amelia's latest joke. I turned around as she broke our gaze. I left the room and caught my breath. Caught my breath? I actually felt like I was panicking. I went to the bathroom splashed cold water on my face. I felt her behind me.

"Honey, what's wrong? Is something the matter?" she asked me.

* * *

**Weiss's POV**

Call it a hunch. That's what they call it in the crime novels and mysteries. Velma had her hunches in the old Scooby-Doo cartoons before Scrappy came along. She was always a heroine of mine. Sure she wasn't dressed as snazzy as Daphne, but she sure could solve a mystery and that's what I had on my hands, a real mystery.

I knew when Frank, my old partner, got shot and killed that I'd be getting a new partner. But the Bureau didn't let the dust fall on his coffin before I was set up with my new partner. They won't let you go too long, but I expected a week, or two, of bereavement time before meeting the new agent, not just two days! Tom was an agent from the north and had brought with him a special assignment from the persons-of-interest files. He was supposed to be a temporary fill until they found someone permanent to be my partner, but I didn't mind the eye candy—he was quite a dish.

The assignment seemed straight forward at first. We were investigating the bombing of the vampire hotel in Rhodes, and the two persons of interest a man and a woman, both in their early to mid-twenties, who were seen to be helping the victims. According to the fire chief on duty at the time, the two joined hands _and see_, and were able to find many missing humans and vampires. Many more than the search and rescue department would have found had they not been there. They hadn't given their names and disappeared before anyone could find them to question them. Thank goodness the bomb squad had someone with a brain that day, so we had photos to go by.

Tom already knew the name of the woman, Sookie Stackhouse, of Bon Temps, Louisiana. His assignment was to find out the name of the man too and offer them both per tempus contracts with the FBI if they were willing. We met with Miss Stackhouse late last year and she seemed very suspicious of us. She wasn't any help in finding the identity of the young man—said she'd never met him before—hadn't seen him since. We checked her phone records and e-mails and tapped her land line. I was about to suggest that we call it quits and try other methods of determining who this man in the picture was when the gruesome murder happened. How could anyone in such a little town be so cruel to another human being? My heart went out for poor Miss Stackhouse when we discovered it was her sister-in-law.

I went along with the Stackhouse surveillance initially, but it had been going on pointlessly for so long now and we never did any work on finding the man in the photo. It just wasn't right. I began my suspicions when we installed a tracking device on Miss Stackhouse's car. That was a couple weeks ago. We'd followed her car from her home in Bon Temps to the vampire bar, called Fangtasia, and back again. Occasionally, we tracked her to her work at Merlotte's Bar in Bon Temps, but mostly we sat and watched her. She went home one evening and didn't appear again for about two days. Tom didn't seem at all alarmed at this and just said to be patient.

I was beginning to think he was just eccentric, but then one night at the hotel, I flipped on an all night marathon of the original Scooby Doo cartoons and I thought to myself, _what would Velma do_? So I did what Velma did. I looked outside the box. I looked for clues. I tried to find out what was under the mask of the man who was sitting next to me.

Okay, okay, so I did a back ground check, but Velma would have done as much if she the kind of resources I had at my finger tips! I had to be careful because it was frowned upon rather severely if you checked out your fellow FBI agents. I expected to find very little. We were all surprisingly clean, but considering the job requirements, I guess it wasn't really that surprising. Guess what I found—bupkus! He was clean as the proverbial whistle. I wondered if he could be CIA or NSA, but wondered what it was about these two people in the photo that would require such notice by either of those agencies.

The even more mysterious and scary thing about him was that when I called my supervisor, he'd never heard of him and wondered how I was doing on my leave of absence—was I coping with Frank's death all right? When might I be back? Huh???

I decided that the best course of action was to talk to Miss Stackhouse. By now, of course, I had learned from Tom that she was a telepath and that's why the bureau was looking to get her to work for us. After losing her at the Savoy residence, Tom seemed very eager to talk with her and try again to find out who the man was. He said he wanted to do all the talking, so I thought I'd let him. It took me a couple hours to put my plan into action, but I after talking to Sam Merlotte alone, he said he'd do anything to help Sookie and agreed to go to her house and tell her in person to make sure she had her shields down when Tom and I met with her. He reported back that she was willing to meet with us as long as her fiancé could be there too. No problem!

* * *

**Sookie's POV**

The dinner party was fabulous. Eric and I have to entertain more often! Of course, with Jason there the talk turned to us as little kids and he told some of the funny stories that I'd almost forgotten about. He told our guests particularly embarrassing story about me and I told them all about Hadley beating him up when he picked on his dear sweet little sister. He groaned and everyone laughed. I was almost doubled over when Eric walked into the room. Of course I felt his presence, but when he looked at me, he was so darn full of every good emotion on record that I don't think the bond was big enough to pass it all on to me.

I turned briefly away from his gaze to look at Amelia who had started a new round of laughter and when I looked back I saw him walking into the hall bathroom. I got up to check on him because something didn't feel quite right. I heard the water turn on and saw him splash some on his face.

"Honey, what's wrong? Is something the matter?" I asked him.

* * *

**Preston POV**

"Hello Dr. Ludwig."

"Preston. It's been a while…"

* * *

**A/N:** A cliffhanger…


	23. Chapter 22 Prewedding Preparations

**8-15-09 Story Updated to correction a couple typos that I missed (sorry, I posted a lot too late at night!) and to pop in something about the wedding date for Eric and Sookie. I thought I had made mentioin of that in this chapter, but a fan pointed that out. It will still be a couple days for a new chapter, sorry!**

**Chapter 22 Pre-Wedding Preparations**

"_Honey, what's wrong? Is something the matter?" I asked him._

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I asked him again, shaking him slightly, "Honey, Eric, is something the matter?" I asked him. Nothing but dead silence. "ERIC NORTHMAN! Earth to Eric!" I said growing more inpatient and concerned.

He whipped around with vampiric speed and held me tight. "It's okay. I'm okay. I just had a weird feeling a sensation that something horrible was going to happen to you. I felt like I would never see you again. Did you feel anything now?"

"When?" I asked slowly, a little suspicious of something I had begun to wonder about myself.

"Just a couple minutes ago, I felt…" he began.

"Weary? Out of control? Couldn't put a finger on what you were feeling?" I suggested.

He nodded. "You've had them too, hmmm?" he looked at me with a crooked eyebrow.

"Yes, I have, for about six weeks now and the feelings are growing stronger and stronger. I think that one of the babies might be psychic or something. Hell, maybe all of them are who knows! What I think you felt was a little déjà vu or premonition-type feeling, at least that's what I am thinking," I said, not quite sure about this whole psychic component. Geeze, I wish I'd asked the doctor about it, but I was too busy thinking about their little heart beats and the upcoming wedding plans.

Oddly, as if he was listening to my thoughts, Eric said, "I guess we should have asked the doctor about it when we had the chance. Would you like me to call her back here to ask her?"

"NO!" I said, "A. We have company. B. We just had her here at great expense. And C. We would be troubling her too much. I don't want to tick off the only supe doc I know!" I wonder if there were others, but decided to let it go right now. "Let's get out to our company."

"We'll discuss this more later tonight," he said grinning and moving his eyebrows up and down.

"You and your discussions," I said shaking my head, but smiling. We walked out to the living room, both grinning.

* * *

Eric sat back down on the corner of the couch where I had been sitting. He pulled me over and down to sit in his lap. My word, nothing felt better and more right than just sitting there with Eric in our little corner of my couch, talking to our friends and laughing. It was all so natural, so homey, so sublime.

The conversation turned to talk of marriage licenses. "I wonder how you go about getting a marriage license, what would you need?" asked Amelia.

"Let's look it up on the Internet. It's not like we have a lot of time to plan this wedding of yours! Or yours either, right? When are you two tying the knot?"

"A couple seeks or so...I think...but before we move in together. Call me superstitiuos, I guess."

So we looked on the Internet and found out what the great State of Louisiana needed in order to get married. It looked like what I expected. "Here goes," I said to Amelia, and announcing to everyone in the room, "you need a picture ID with a copy of your birth certificate, you need to know your Social Security Number and your folks first and last names and where they were born. Then you need to have information about previous marriages and how they ended—certified copies and once you have the license, you need to wait 72 hours before getting married."

"We're going to shave that awfully close, honey," said Amelia to Remy. He just grinned. The grin faded when she asked him about divorce papers from Hadley.

"I've got them back at the house. I should have a copy of her death certificate, or final death certificate, or something. Hey Eric, what do you get when you turn into a vampire?" Remy directed over to Eric.

"Since the VRA passed, a few years ago, you need to declare how long you've been a vampire. There is a certificate of declaration that we were all required to fill out in order to get Social Security Numbers when we opened Fangtasia. Of course, I already owned property before opening my bar, so I had to legitimize it for tax purposes," he offered up more that I had ever known about the logistics of being a vampire, and he went on, "You should have seen the faces on the humans at the Secretary of State's office when Pam said she was born in the 18th century. We almost had to scrape their chins off the floor, do you remember that Pam?" he asked like she wouldn't. He continued chuckling, "And then I told them how old I was! One of them actually fainted!"

We all laughed very hard at that. I hadn't imagined how hard that must have been for Pam and Eric (Bill too I suppose) to have lived for so long in the shadows of society, in their own little world and existence, and then to have to come out and fill out all our red tape and enter the world of bureaucracy. I said as much to Eric.

"I was a little nervous, but I wanted to mainstream. It was exciting for me to try something new. But if it weren't for my owning Fangtasia, and the vampires coming out, I would never have met you, lover."

"Wow. Hmm, food for thought. I guess you're right. I'd probably be sitting here right now, with Gran, and maybe Jason, eating dinner. I wouldn't know you or Pam or Bill or Amelia. Maybe I would have know Remy if he was still married to Hadley, maybe not. Hadley would be alive still, maybe and maybe not, and you two would probably still be divorced and arguing bitterly over Hunter. Amelia would still be living in New Orleans under her father's watchful eye."

"To the VRA," Amelia said raising her glass--grinning madly.

"The VRA," we all agreed raising our glasses.

"So what else should we know?" asked Amelia.

"Well, let's see the license fees vary from Parish to Parish, so for Renard, they are $40 and they only take cash. Oh, and here's an ironic and amusing fact! No blood test required!" This again was laughed at, particularly by me. I don't know why but it just struck me funny. "You can't get married by proxy, whatever that means, and you can't marry your first cousin because eww! And," I said looking at Eric, "no Common Law marriages."

"Was that directed at me, dear one?"

"Sort of," I said sheepishly.

"Why?"

"Well, we are sort of Common Vampire Law married already aren't we?"

"Yes, wife, we are already married, in my world, but soon we will be married in yours too, and then you really won't be able to get rid of me!" he teased.

"Oh? So I _can_ get away from you?" I teased back, starting to get up off his lap. I heard a low growl and felt Eric's iron grip holding me fast in his lap.

"No." Spoken cold, harsh and simple. I turned to look glare at him for oppressing me, but he was grinning so much that I kissed his cheek instead and whispered, "I wasn't going anywhere anyway."

"Awww," said Pam said with a ton of sarcasm. "Are we going to discuss this wedding before all you humans have to get to sleep?"

We continued to talk for several hours discussing the details, the guest list, the women's dresses and the men's suits, the flowers, the cake, the rings, the vows and any other detail that we could think of. During a lot of the girl talk, which Eric was fascinated by, Remy found a moment to pull Jason aside to ask him to be his best man. I could see them both out of the corner of my eye in the dining room. There was a little hand shaking, some shoulder slapping, and then a very quick man-hug before they came back into the living room, each one wiping his eyes a little, sniffing and looking at the ceiling trying to pretend that they hadn't had a moment. It was precious, in a man's man sort of way.

"Okay, I am officially talked out right now," said Amelia, "Remy, could you please get all your documentation together for me in the morning? I'm going to bed."

"Sure, sweetie—me too," said Remy as they both climbed the stairs to their bedrooms.

"Well, I am heading out now too, sis" said Jason. I gave him a hug and thanked him for coming and told him how glad I was to be getting closer to him again. He hugged me again, really hard and turned around fast and left. I could see him wiping his eyes again—twice in one night. That must have been a first!

While Jason was leaving Eric had told Pam to drive his car (the 'Vette I might add) back to Shreveport as he would either fly, or stay in my hidey-hole. I was glad Eric was staying, but I was kind of pissed about him letting Pam drive his precious baby, and after she left and we were alone I told him that.

"She's a vampire, Sookie, she's not going to crash!"

I smacked his arm harder than I intended for that remark, and boy did my hand hurt! OUCH! "And you are going to be sleeping where tonight?"

"Right next you, lover, or on top, or underneath, or…"

I interrupted, "Then you better stop making snide (Word of the Day) comments about my driving abilities! I didn't crash the damn thing last time I drove it, did I? Hmmm??? NO!"

His eyes lit up and he teased, "I love it when you're a little mad at me. It makes you more of a challenge to seduce."

"Arrgh!" I growled back in exasperation.

"Just like that, lover," he said and proceeded to kiss the socks off me, followed by my skirt, shirt, bra, pant—well you get the picture!

* * *

Afterward, we were lying bed holding each other and I said, "I was also reading about how marriage licenses last for 30 days. Do you want me to pick up ours tomorrow? Do you have all your paperwork, or could you call Bobby Burnham and have him bring it to me in the morning?"

"Sure. Sookie, who is officiating?" he asked lazily kissing my forehead since it was the closest thing within reach.

"I'll ask Amelia tomorrow and find out, why?"

"Just wondering. You know I haven't been to a human wedding since mine."

"That's a long time in between," I said. "Do you think that we need to prove you are no longer married?" I felt a little sadness trickle over through the bond. I wish I hadn't said that.

Eric sighed, "I don't think we need to mention it."

* * *

Thenext morning, I woke before sunrise to find that Eric was still in bed with me. He had his head on my stomach and was talking to it, whispering in his ancient language.

"What are you telling them?" I asked with amusement.

"I am telling them a story."

"About what?"

"A saga about my country, in ancient times, where swords and strength and cunning ruled the day. It has kings and queens, princes and princesses and all sorts of other interesting characters. You might like it."

"Does it ever get told in English?"

"No. It doesn't translate. You'll just have to learn my mother tongue."

"What exactly is your mother tongue anyway?"

"Old Norse it is called nowadays, but in my time we just spoke it."

"Oh, how many languages do you speak?"

"About 30 fluently, and I can muddle my way through a hundred more. I can speak any European language, of course, since I spent most of my time there, and quite a few Asiatic languages as well, and how about you, my lover. How many languages do you speak?"

"Well, I have a fairly good grasp of English and I learned a little French in high school. Not very impressive, huh?"

"Admittedly, there are more impressive things that you do with your tongue," he said leeringly. "Why don't you show me?"

So I did.

* * *

When I awoke in the morning, Eric was gone and Amelia, Remy and Hunter were waiting for me to eat something and get dressed. Bobby Burnham had been by with Eric's information. I don't know when at night Eric called him, but I am sure glad I missed that bundle of joy when he stopped by. Amelia said he was non-plused, but I bet he was a bit more pissed than that!

We went shopping and bought our dresses (she had asked me to be her bride's maid) and we picked out a really simple and elegant scratch-made cake that would arrive at noon. Arranged for a caterer that would deliver the food, set it up and leave. Basically, everything that was talked about last night was completed in a couple hours. Amelia even picked out an elegant wedding band. She didn't have an engagement ring and didn't want one. _Not enough time, so why bother?_ she thought.

The last stop before lunch was the courthouse. Amelia had no problem getting her license, Remy was there and they left with Hunter to go and get a table for us for lunch. I stepped up to the counter to get my license and the woman behind the counter just stared at me.

"Is there a problem?" I asked as innocently as possible. She was giving me a sinister look.

"You think you are going to marry a vampire?"

"I don't think, I know I am going to marry a vampire. What concern is it of yours?"

"We don't have licenses for humans to marry vampires."

"Yes you do. It is legal in the State of Louisiana and has been for about a year now. Give me the license."

"No. It is against the word of God! You can't marry the dead!"

"Do you have a manager, or a supervisor I could talk to?"

"He's at lunch right now! You'll have to come some other time. Go on now," she said pointing at the door.

"No. I came for a marriage license and I will leave with one. I have all the correct documentation and the money and I want a license."

"Your undead creature isn't with you, so I can't issue one."

"Yes you can so issue one and you will! Am I going to have to get my lawyer involved?"

"Go ahead, see if I care, can you even _afford_ a lawyer?" she sneered. I bet Eric could buy and sell her sorry ass a hundred times over. I called Bobby Burnham, who was less than thrilled to come and save the day, but did nonetheless. He was over in a matter of minutes.

"Miss Stackhouse, how can I help you?" he said as diplomatically seething as possible.

"I just trying to get my marriage license, and this harpy won't give me one."

"Miss ___?" he began by getting her to say her last name.

"Starkweather," she responded a little chagrinned at being spoken to by a lawyer.

"Miss Starkweather, let's be reasonable. Miss Stackhouse has come in here with all the correct paperwork to obtain a marriage license, has she not?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you give her one."

"It's unethical for her to marry a vampire!"

"Whether it is ethical, or not, it is legal according to new laws in the State of Louisiana, for Miss Stackhouse to get a marriage license with a vampire, if she so chooses. Now would you kindly draw up the license for my client?"

"I-I-I-can't," said Miss Starkweather.

"They'll kill me."

"Who'll kill you?" asked Bobby.

"The Fellowship."

I thought as much. A slight chuckle slipped from Bobby Burnham's mouth. "You are scared of a little Fellowship?"

Nod.

"Have you met Miss Stackhouse's betrothed?"

Shake.

"Compared to his wrath, the Fellowship's would be a walk in the park on a Sunday. Why don't you draw up that license and we can all be on our way, and if you have any trouble from the Fellowship, you can give me a call," he said as he slipped her a business card. _Smooth_, I thought, _really well handled, no wonder Eric likes you._

Bobby escorted me out of the clerk's office and down the street to the restaurant with my license in tow. I asked him to stay to lunch and to my surprise, he did. We talked about how to get a hold of a judge to perform the ceremony. He told us that he knew one and that he'd arrange it for the judge to be there on Saturday to perform the marriage. I thanked him as we finished lunch and we parted ways; me feeling a little bit better about Bobby Burnham than I ever had.

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you like this chapter. Don't worry, this cliff hanger resolution from last chapter is coming up soon, but maybe not for a couple days...in-laws in town!

8-15-09 (I am hoping for Sunday for the next publication...maybe Monday.)


	24. Chapter 23 Meeting with the FBI

**Chapter 23 Meeting with the FBI**

I decided that the best course of action was to talk to Miss Stackhouse. By now, of course, I had learned from Tom that she was a telepath and that's why the bureau was looking to get her to work for us. After losing her at the Savoy residence, Tom seemed very eager to talk with her and try again to find out who the man was. He said he wanted to do all the talking, so I thought I'd let him. It took me a couple hours to put my plan into action, but I after talking to Sam Merlotte alone, he said he'd do anything to help Sookie and agreed to go to her house and tell her in person to make sure she had her shields down when Tom and I met with her. He reported back that she was willing to meet with us as long as her fiancé could be there too. No problem!-Sara Weiss

* * *

**Sam POV**

Two days ago, I was on my way back to my office after locking up the bar for the evening. I double checked the locks on the storerooms and was going to take a good hard look at the books again before turning in for the night. I sat down at my desk, thinking about who else?…why none other than Sookie Stackhouse herself, in all her blond buxom bombshell glory. I wanted her so badly, or rather, had wanted her so badly, but I knew I'd never be anything more than a friend to her. Unrequited love is such a bitch, but it didn't stop my fantasies.

"Oh Sookie, Sookie, Sookie," I said out loud shaking head., not having to fear that I'd be overheard by my staff—not that that mattered much anyway, most of the barmaids knew how I felt about Sookie and teased me from time to time about it. I'll forever kick myself for not asking her out, for not starting something just a few short years ago, before vampires started crawling out of the woodwork—taking away any chance that I would ever have at my own true happiness.

I just about jumped out of my skin when a quiet voice said to me, "That's just who I need to talk to you about this evening."

"Who the hell are you and how the hell did you get into my bar!" I yelled at the voice and the woman it belonged to stepped out of the shadows looking cautious but firm. She held out a badge.

"I am Agent Sara Weiss of the FBI, and I need to talk to you about Sookie Stackhouse."

"I don't know anything about Sookie Stackhouse," I said defensively.

"That's funny since she's worked for you for six years now. Look, I really need to talk to you about Sookie. She is in grave danger and you can help her, and me, out of a tight situation._ Please_?" she begged, looking like that was not something she was used to doing, or was doing willingly.

I thought for only a split second before saying, "Sure, I'll do just about anything for Sookie."

A wry smile spread playfully across her lips, "My, my, my so quick to bend over backwards for someone you proclaim not to know anything about!"

It did sound kind of stupid when she put it that way. "What do you need me to do? What kind of danger has she gotten herself into this time?"

"You may remember that we, my partner Special Agent Tom Lattesta and I? We came around a few weeks ago asking Ms. Stackhouse a few questions about some photos she appeared in during the aftermath of the explosion at the vampire hotel in Rhodes."

"Yes?" I asked trying to guess what the hell she was trying to get at.

"Well, our assignment, or so I thought, was to ask Ms. Stackhouse to identify the young man in the picture and offer both of them a per contract job with the FBI assisting in finding people…kind of like human bloodhounds."

I was taking a swig of Coke that I'd grabbed to drink while I was doing my books when she spoke about Sookie being a bloodhound. I almost choked and said, "A bloodhound? Oh Sookie would love that description!" _Not_, I thought.

"Well," said Agent Weiss, "as it turned out, that wasn't our assignment. I don't think the agency even knows, or cares, about Sookie Stackhouse and whoever the hell that guy in the pictures is. What I think is that Ms. Stackhouse has every reason to fear my partner, as do I. It turns out that he isn't an agent and he seems to be obsessed with Ms. Stackhouse. I don't know if he's from another agency or not, you know like CIA and NSA, but I don't know what they would want from Ms. Stackhouse if he is. The long and short of it is that I need to find out a way to get a message to her without drawing attention to myself and blowing my cover and I need to find a way to talk with her. Can you help me out?"

"I can help you, but I need to clear this through her fiancé, Eric Northman. Have you heard of him?"

"Yes, we've tailed her to his vampire bar in Shreveport several times. Wait a minute, fiancé? You mean to tell me that she's going to marry a vampire?"

Tell me about it. "Yes, she's in love with him and she's going to marry him. She's pregnant too, did you know that?" I said for no particular reason. Why was I giving her any more information?

"Pregnant? I thought vampires…"

"They can't-"

"Artificial ins-"

"No!"

"How then."

"Her relationship with Eric has been on-again, off-again. They are bonded through blood exchanges…" and to my utter shock and dismay, I revealed just about every secret of Sookie and Eric's life together and all my thoughts and suppositions, too. This woman…what the hell, why did I want to tell her everything? "So what's your story?" I heard myself asking her.

"My story?" she grinned, amazed maybe that someone was taking an interest in her take on life. And she talked to me until 3 a.m. about her life, her upbringing, what led her to be an FBI agent. She was amazing! I, in turn, told her about my stint in the military, and my dream of owning a bar. I even told her about my being a shifter and it didn't seem to faze her at all.

"Can you change any time, or just at the full moon?" she asked even more interested than Sookie had been…oh, Sookie. I actually forgot that's why this fascinating creature had come to visit me in the first place.

"Anytime," I said, refocusing the conversation back to the original point, "so you were here to arrange something with Sookie?"

"Oh, I almost forgot," she said, blushing a little. Either she was a good actress, or she was a little smitten. "Yes, can you call right now and arrange something with this Eric?"

_This Eric_. I mentally laughed at that one. Suddenly, I was a little afraid of what _this Eric_ might do to her if she played this out wrong. Regardless, I picked up the phone to call him.

"Northman,"

"Eric, this is Sam"

"Is Sookie all right?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice.

"Yes, well, sort of not," I stumbled.

"Explain, shifter," he said impatiently.

So I explained about Sara and her request to interview Sookie, and how I thought it would be a good idea if Eric were there too, that his being there was one of my conditions to even bring up the subject of the FBI interviewing Sookie. I also told him about the suspicion she had about her partner. That really seemed to catch his attention.

"Sam," he said, which meant he wanted something from me. He never used my name unless he was trying to play nice. "I need you to keep her there so that I can talk to her myself," he said very earnestly.

"Why?"

"I know some things about her partner that I need to share with her. I need to know that she can be trusted around Sookie and that she's not in cahoots with this partner of hers. Keep her there shifter until I can fly down there. I will see you in about a half an hour." Click.

I shut my cell phone too. "Eric said he needs to talk to you and he'll be here in about a half an hour. I live next door, would you like to go there to wait? It's a little more comfortable than an old bar chair."

"I'd love to," she said with a little extra emphasis on the word love.

I closed the bar up for the night and locked the door at the back and walked with Sara over to my house.

"Cute place you got here," she said, being polite. I had a place, not a cute place by any stretch of the imagination. She continued, "It needs a woman's touch, but it's real cute!" Was she for real? A woman's touch? She offering? I thought a bit sarcastically to myself as we walked in the front door.

I went in first since it was my house and Sara followed close behind. I heard the door slam shut and whipped around to see why. I was met with a pair of hot and hungry lips.

* * *

**Eric POV**

As soon as I got the call from Sam, I took off immediately to meet this partner of Preston's. If I had any inkling that she was working with him, I'd tear her to shreds on the spot. I was literally only days away from the moment of my eternal happiness and I wasn't going to let some would-be J. Edgar Hoover type take that away from me.

I knocked very loudly on the door to make my presence known. I heard a lot of scuffling inside, zippers and material being hoisted back into position, and the shifter shouted that they'd be just a minute. I had heard them about a half mile away. I had to hand it to the shifter, if he'd only just met her-that was pretty darn fast! I hated that he just pegged another notch in my estimation of him. Twice in one evening—a first.

"It's open," shouted the shifter.

"Can't—no invitation!" _idiot_.

"Sorry, Eric, would you please come in," he said opening the door and inviting me in with that stupid sweeping gesture that just about everyone uses when they are being formal in their invitations. Even Sookie swept her hand out like Vanna White pointing to a new puzzle. That was one of the very few things that she did that annoyed me.

"Thank you," I told him. "Now what is this all about? Woman, you tell me."

"Do you talk to your fiancée that way? Or did you save all your charm for me?" she said snidely. I thought for a brief second I saw Sam turn around with a grin on his face. "My name is Sara Weiss, and you can address me as Sara, or Ms. Weiss, or Agent Weiss. One thing you will not do is address me as 'woman,' at least not if you want me to respond."

"My apologies," I said as cordially as if I were talking to Sookie. _My apologies, my world-class ass_, I thought, but if Sookie were here, she'd be mad if I spoke to another woman like I just did, so I minded my—Ps and Qs, I think the phrase is. I'd be civil, at least to start with. "Would you please tell me the whole story?"

"That's much better," she said admonishing me—wench—and I listened with a thousand years of restraint as she told me every part of her tale. The more she talked, the more I ended up respecting this hard-hitting FBI agent. She had the type of warrior personality that I'd go into battle with any day. She'd make a damn good vampire. Again, my respect for the shifter went up—third time in one night.

"I am going to tell you something that you may find hard to accept, but I think I need to share this information with you because you need to know what, or rather whom, you are dealing with. Can I trust you to not to repeat a word of it to anyone?"

"Sure."

"Can I trust you?" I repeated.

"Absolutely, of course! You can trust me. Now what is it?" she said, a bit to perky. I advised her on the exact penalties of what I would personally do to her if she was found to be untrustworthy. She visibly blanched and I asked her again. "Yes," she said a little more solemnly.

"Good. Let me ask you, do you believe in Faery Tales?"

She thought for a moment, and answered, "Yes, I believe that some, if not most, Faery tales have some basis in truth. They were mainly used to teach children about politics and life morals, or to scare them into compliance, or even to relay histories. Why?"

"Okay, do you believe in Faeries?"

"Faeries? As in little green men with wings and pointy ears and pots of gold?"

"No, not Martians, or gold, but you are right about the pointy ears. No, Faeries are as real as you are. They are deliciously sweet-smelling, so much so that I would lose control if there were one in this room right now. I'd fuck the Faery and suck him or her dry without any thought to you are Sam being in the room and I wouldn't bat an eyelash. Faeries are very compelling creatures to vampires."

"Oh. Hmmm…how would I react to a Faery? How would Sam react? Is this only the way vampires react? How are Faeries with each other?"

"You told her about you being a shifter?" I asked Sam.

"Yes," he said.

"Anyway, to answer your question, you and Sam would find the Faery very attractive. Your minds would compel you to want to be around the Faery and think of things to do to be with the Faery and you would need to please the Faery all at your expense. The typical Faery would, ironic for me to say, bleed you dry of all your good will. That's how they've survived for millennia, but sucking the life force out of those beings who are misfortunate enough to be around them too long."

She nodded, taking in all this information. "So, why are you telling me all this?"

"Because your partner is a fucking Faery. How serious are you at trying to get rid of him?"

"Very. I am beginning to think that he might have had something to do with my old partner getting shot, so that I would need a new partner and so that he could manipulate my situation to suit his needs. I think that I am his ticket to being able to talk to Ms. Stackhouse. Why is he so obsessed with her anyway?"

"Because, like all of us who are around her for even a short while, he's in love with her. She's part Faery too, but only one-eighth, so I can resist her—sometimes. He conned her into sleeping with him while she and I hadn't yet decided solidly about our future together and she's carrying his children."

"Excuse me, _his_ children?"

"Yes, his Faery children. And I think it was a planned pregnancy on his part. I think that Sookie's great grandfather, the Prince of Faery, had a hand in arranging their little one-night stand."

"Huh? Okay, back up a little for me…now there's a Faery Prince? Does that make Ms. Stackhouse a Faery Princess?" I rolled my eyes at her and explained again about the Faery War and the gates closing on the Faery realm and the importance of the babies to Naill—a fact that only just dawned on me, my children were even more important now that Claudine was dead. Shit!

"So you see, we have to stop him from taking either Sookie, or the babies, or all of them."

"Okay. Where do we begin," she said. She was now in full war-plan mode and I loved it! This woman was great. I'd gone from being ready to kill her in heinous ways to being ready to want to fuck her—if I was still a bachelor. She was too good for the shifter, but it would take his mind off Sookie. Maybe I would glamour her before the evening was over and…well, maybe not. Sookie wouldn't approve of that. She'd want Mother Nature to take its course, and hadn't it already?

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for sticking with it!


	25. Chapter 23 Meeting with the FBI Part II

**Chapter 23 Part II**

**A/N:** I posted the original Chapter 23 two nights ago at almost three thousand words, so I thought it was long enough, had a cliff hanger-type ending, and I was "dead" tired, but when I saw my Chapter 24 notes, I realized I really needed a Part II for the chapter, so here is the continuation:

* * *

**Sookie POV**

The sun had just set over the trees and Eric appeared next to me as I sat on the porch swing. I hadn't realized that he stayed over at my house, but wasn't surprised or in the least bit shocked by his sudden presence, on the contrary, I thought it was kind of sweet. It was two nights before Amelia and Remy's wedding, and they had gone to New Orleans for the day to introduce Remy and Hunter to Amelia's father.

Amelia was sure that her father was going to blow a gasket when he found out that his only daughter was marrying a divorcé with a child, and not a rich one at that. She was sure that he was going to try to talk her out of it, or force Remy into signing a pre-nuptial agreement. She had told me he'd scared off many beaux in the past because he was so overbearing. She didn't even want him to know about the marriage until after the fact, but I argued that her father might want to walk her down the aisle. Since I didn't have the privilege of a father, I didn't want her to forego the opportunity.

I hoped that her father would see it the same way and understand that Amelia's mind, once made up, stays made up. I'd learned that about her after only living with her for a short while. I don't know that he'd ever figured that out after a whole lifetime with her. Now was a good time to start. I mentally crossed my fingers for her.

She had asked me to go with her, but I declined because Eric had left me an urgent message with Bobby Burnham, who was back to his old disgruntled self. He stopped by to say that Eric wanted to talk with me about something that Sam had brought to his attention during the night. I was going to call him shortly, but here he was, live and in person! He put his arm around my shoulder and closed his eyes as we sat gently swinging in the remainder of the evening twilight. I snuggled in next to him and enjoyed the moment.

I turned to look up at Eric and he bent his head down to kiss me. I felt like I was in high school again, but in a reality that was unlike my high school make-out sessions, which usually turned sour before I got to the kissing part. Ah well, life was a bit more perfect now. I had a home, a man soon to be my husband, and a whole family on the way. No one was trying to get me, or kill me—heck there wasn't anyone left! Then Eric broke me reverie.

"Sookie," he said softly to me as we had toned down our kissing to just a tight squeeze.

"Mmmm…yes," I mumbled pulling away from him enough to look at him. I was sitting on his lap and as I looked to meet his eyes, I had a sinking feeling that something was afoot. I looked at him square and said a little harder, "Yes?" _I knew it. I can't catch a break can I?_ I thought to myself, then said allowed, "You are about to tell me something I don't want to hear aren't you?" I made an attempt to get up off his lap, but I was held firm in place. _Let me go!_ Okay, I was officially ticked off. I just wanted to get away from the situation. I didn't want to be bothered about anything unpleasant.

"Settle down, lover," he said firmly. Gripping me a little tighter.

I breathed through my nose at him, like an angry bull and I narrow my eyes, and said, "WHAT" very slowly and deliberately, "what are you going to tell me? Everything in my life is perfect right now. I don't want to work for the King of Nevada, I don't want to work for you, I don't want to be used by anyone for anything for any reason. OUCH! Stop squeezing me so tight!"

He lightened up a little physically, but made up for it emotionally. "WHERE IS THIS ATTITUDE COMING FROM! I haven't said anything yet! Now stop trying to get away, you _promised_ you wouldn't run!" he screamed at me. I moved to get away from him again and his grip tightened up and he glared at me through ice-blue eyes.

"OUCH! You are _hurting_ me!" I cried with tears in my eyes. "Please stop. I won't try to get away, just let go!"

"Truce?" he said and let go immediately. It took everything I had to sit still and not run in the house and rescind his invitation. I gave it serious thought, but I thought he'd probably beat me to the door, so I put it out of my mind.

I nodded. "Truce."

"Lover, do you trust me?"

"Yes, honey-pie, I trust you," spoken through sarcastically clenched teeth. Truce meant I wasn't going to run, not that I was going to stop being mad.

"Good," he said, sounding a little terse, "then stop being a little brat." My jaw set. I did NOT like being called a little brat. Eric continued, "I'm just trying to tell you something that will hopefully get rid of the last creature that is trying to do you harm, and trying to come between us. Can you listen for five minutes while I tell you about the plan? We don't really have much time."

"Is this why you were staying here? To protect me? Not because you missed me, not because you love me, but because you were trying to protect your asset? And _little brat_? Don't you EVER EVER call me that again, or so help me I'll find some way to get away from you for good!"

Again, with the deep breath that he didn't need to take. "Sookie," spoken calmly, firmly, rationally. "I stayed here to protect you and to be here as soon as I could tonight. Time is of the essence. Lover, I always miss you. You are not an asset of mine, you are my life. I ache for you every moment you aren't with me. I worry about you until I am almost insane with frustration. _When_ will you understand that?"

"I do understand that," I said quietly, a little chagrinned. "I just…" and then I laughed, "…oh my God, I've done it again, haven't I?" I threw my arms around him and kissed his cheek. Needless to say, he was very surprised by my sudden backtracking. "I'm sorry!" I managed between giggles.

"Hormones?" he asked in a confused voice.

That made me laugh all the harder. "Yes hormones. What would make you guess that?"

"Pam."

"Oh. Bless Pam. Dear Abby?" I guessed. He nodded. "Look, I'm settled down a little now. Talk to me?" I asked. He stared, still silent. "I'm sorry I got upset. Thanks for not letting me run off, but lighten up next time, you really hurt me!"

"Sookie, darling, it's okay. I understand you are pregnant and you fly off the handle at a moment's notice. Stop apologizing. I'm sorry I hurt your arms, but you promised you wouldn't walk away from me. I didn't want you to break your promise. Can I heal them? Are they bruised?" he asked by way of making amends. I declined. "And I'm sorry I called you a brat."

"_Little_ brat!" I corrected.

"Fine—_little_ brat. I'm sorry I called you a _little_ brat. Now the plan that I have to tell you, I don't know how you are going to react and I don't have much time left to tell you before it goes into play. Can I be assured that your hormones won't make you crazy again?" he inquired very seriously.

"You have my solemn word," I said as diplomatically as possible raising my hand in the air.

"Do you remember the two FBI agents that were questioning you a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago? You told me about them at Fangtasia."

I nodded. "Sara Weiss and Tom Lattesta. They were both nice, but I didn't want to give them any information about Barry and they hounded me a little. I haven't seen them since after I was tort-since the Fae War, why?"

"Why? Because they are fairly good at their job. They've been watching you this whole time. They tapped your phones and they watched your cell phone records to see if they could find out if you were talking to Barry."

"Really?"

"No. Not really."

"I don't understand." What point was he trying to drive home here. Whatever it was, I wasn't getting it.

"That was their cover, or at least that was Lattesta's cover. Agent Weiss is really an FBI agent, but she was duped by Lattesta who isn't an agent. Can you guess who he might be?"

I racked my brains. Nothing. "No, Eric, I can't guess, who?"

"This hard about it Sookie. Who might want to know how you are doing? Who might have a vested interest in your well being?" he pressed.

I sat thinking for what seemed like an eternity, trying to piece all the parts together, then suddenly it clicked. I looked up at Eric and his eyes.

"Preston," we said together.

I stared at him for another second, then I got up and went in the house. He must have known not to touch me just then and try to make me stay because I went in a threw up. Preston—my one night stand. Presto—the biological father (read sperm donor) of my children. Preston—whom I thought I'd never see again. Preston—who lied to me about who he was and why he was in my woods last Christmas Eve. Preston—the last creature who was doing me harm? Uh oh! Hurl. Yuck!

I heard the water running in the sink behind me, and felt my hair slowly life back. "Are you okay, lover? You flew in here so quickly; I didn't know what you were doing, but figured it might be this. I'm sorry I took so long to come to see that you were okay."

"I'm fine," I said, and with that he lifted me up and stood me at the counter so I could brush my teeth. Next thing I knew I was sitting on the couch and Eric was making a fire in the fire place. "So what is going to happen?"

"Sam is going to come over in about a half an hour under the auspices of having a friendly conversation with you. The agents are set to come about a half an hour after that. Sara Weiss knows about your telepathy. She will help guide you during the conversation and the interview. Let your guard down and listen to her. Sam will remain in the room, and I will remain in your bedroom. Preston is not to know I am here until I reveal myself. We have a history that I will tell you about later, so it is best if he thinks he has the upper hand.

"You will be the wonderful Southern Belle that you are and offer Sam and the agents some sweet tea or lemonade. Both Sam and Sara will ask for lemonade, and I believe that Preston will shy away from it. The lemonade will of course be pure lemon juice. Sam is bringing over a sack of lemons right now, and here he is."

"Come in Sam. It doesn't seem to me that we have much time for Eric's plan."

"As I was saying," continued Eric, "I want you to wait for Sara to give you the signal and then I want you three to pour your glasses of lemon juice on Lattesta. Even if he's only half Fae, he'll still respond violently to the lemons."

"Eric, I don't know how to feel about this. Are we planning a murder?" I asked him outright.

"Sookie," he said earnestly, "It's his life or yours. Choose one. Personally, I choose yours, Sam?"

"Sookie's. You Sookie?" said Sam conspiratorially.

"This is hardly something to have a majority rules vote about. This is a _life_ we are taking, or planning to take. This is the…oh Eric, I_ hate_ saying this, but this person is the reason I have the babies. Sorry, Eric, I know that's harsh, but it's the truth. What would I tell them when they are older, that Mommy and Daddy kill their biological Daddy with good old Uncle Sam?" Did they even realize what they were asking me to do? It's not like I had a totally blemish free track record, but I mean Debbie Pelt was one thing, that was self defense. Lorena was another, and that was self-defense too. But this? This was planned, this was organized. Besides, he hadn't done anything to me except screw me several times one evening, and that I hadn't minded! "I can't do this!" I screamed at both of them.

"Chere, no one else can," said Sam trying to comfort me.

"The lemon juice will only seek to slow him down a bit, like silver does to me," said Eric staring at me intently. "It's the only way we can catch him to find out why he's been stalking you. He's very slippery and very tricky."

"Really?" I said, wanting desperately to believe him.

"Honestly, you can leave the room after the juice is spilled. In fact, it is a good idea for you and Sara to go into the bedroom and lock the door. Sam and I will take care of Preston."

"I can't believe that I'm doing this. Eric you have to promise that you won't hurt him. Promise?"

"No. I keep every promise that I make you, Sookie. I can't promise that I won't hurt him. He and I have some unfinished business from centuries ago. I promise, if I have to kill him, I will make it quick. I won't torture him. You'll be glad when it's over, now let's squeeze lemons." Eric and Sam began, but I begged off.

"I don't think I should be that close to lemons, just in case," I said. Besides the thought of actively participating was gnawing at me. The doorbell rang.

I shot Eric a look. He winked (sneaky bastard) and floated off down the hall to remain in my bedroom. Sam slid into position on the couch. I took a deep breath and opened the door. There were Sara Weiss and Tom Lattesta, who looked nothing like the Preston I knew intimately for an evening. I bid them to come in, so they did. I offered them a seat, so they took seats. I sat too and let my shields down as instructed.

Lattesta began by producing those tired old pictures of Barry the Bellboy again. I feigned not knowing him again. _I remember making love to you on this couch, and over on that table, and against that wall…_ thought Preston. I'm sure I blushed. I hope I caught myself before I was too noticeable. I didn't want to blow my cover, did I? Would he really hurt me? Maybe he still had feelings for me.

_Oh I want you Sam_, _right here, right now…_Weiss was thinking. _Last night was fantastic!_ Last night? My word Sam.

_Oh, Sara, you were wonderful last night. I could rip your clothes off you right now and take you in a million different ways…_Sam thought. He generally wasn't a great broadcaster, so this was a first. This is too much information. I shot Weiss a look asking her to speed up the process. I made it careful not to look suspicious.

It didn't matter as Lattesta, or Preston, or whoever the hell he was began anyway, "Miss Stackhouse, I am sure you are wondering what we are doing back here questioning you again and at such a late hour." Then without waiting for an answer, he turned to Sam, "Look fella, perhaps my partner and I could have a few minutes alone with Miss Stackhouse."

"No dice," I said. "Agent Lattesta, my guest is welcome to hear anything you have to say to me." I was terse before, so I figured that I'd better be terse again to keep up the act. I just wanted a glass of lemon in my hand in the worst way right now. I had a very bad feeling emanating from my babies. Were they trying to tell me something?

Lattesta shifted in his seat. Could he feel that too? Was there some connection between the babies and their sperm-donor father? Would they be upset if something happened to him? "Very well Miss Stackhouse. Let me cut to the chase. The Bureau is prepared to offer you and this man in the photograph an offer of employment on a case-by-case basis. We know you are a telepath, and quite frankly, we could use someone with your talents. Are you interested?"

_String him along Sookie. Make him think you are interested_. "I don't know, I'd have to think about it. What does it entail?" I asked at Weiss's instruction.

He was taken aback a little at my interest. Good that made it a little more challenging. "Well, we'd set you up with a contract, of course." _What else, what else…_he was thinking, clearly not prepared.

"Naturally. I would want to have my lawyer look it over before I signed anything." _String him along a few more minutes Sookie_. Weiss thought at me. _We want him to confess to not being an agent—we need to know why he's really here_.

"Of course," said Lattesta. "And you'd move closer to a bigger city."

"Oh no I would not!" I said, forgetting myself.

"Well, you'd have to so that you could be closer to the Bureau so that we could use your special talents when need them," he said by way of explanation. My blood was boiling, but I took a deep breath.

"Hmmm, I guess when you explain it like that it sort of does make sense. Where would I live? Would the Bureau pay for me to have an apartment? Or a house? Would they pay to keep this one? After all, this is my family home."

He smiled. "I'll have to see what I can work out with my superior."

"And the pay, what would I be paid?" String, string, string…

"The pay is negotiable, so when can you leave?" he said putting me on the spot.

I evaded the question. "You know I haven't offered y'all a drink. Where are my manners? What can I get for you Agent Lattesta," I said batting my eyelashes. "I have sweet tea and I have some homemade fresh lemonade."

"I'll have some sweet tea, thanks," he said looking a little nervous.

"Okay, one sweet tea, Agent Weiss? Sam? What can I get for you? Can I interest you in my lemonade? I just made it today with Gran's recipe—extra tangy!"

They both agreed verbally to the lemonade and Sam said, "Agent Weiss, how would you like to accompany me to get the glasses and we'll let Sookie set a spell with Agent Lattesta." _It's okay Sookie, I know what I'm doing_. Sam thought at me, followed immediately by _It's okay Sookie, I think I know were Sam is up to coming from Weiss. Play along but only to a point, then tell him no and tell him why you can't go with him. Tell him about marrying Eric. We want him to blow a fuse so he reveals himself._

I had been sitting on one end of my sofa and Agent Lattesta on the other during this whole conversation. As soon as Weiss and Sam had moved to the kitchen, Lattesta moved closer. A lot closer. He put his hand on my belly. "What do you think you're doing?!" I asked in horror, half expecting Eric to come flying out of the bedroom with a vengeance.

"Let's give up these false pretenses Sookie," he said in almost a whisper, "you know it's me."

"You—who? Who are you? I don't understand." He morphed in front of me as I stared at him. He was Preston again. "Preston." He moved in to kiss me. I leaned back away from him. I could feel anger, not my own, building in the bond, oddly I also felt fear emanating from within—not coming from me but from…the babies? I couldn't imagine what Eric was thinking in my bedroom, but I had a great idea what he was feeling and vice versa. "What are you doing here? What do you want from me?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want you to come back with me to Faery. I want us to make love again the way we did on this couch. I know you are pregnant and I want to raise our children together. I want you to love me. You will have everything you desire. You will never want for anything. Your family is there, it's in your blood. It's your destiny. It's what you were meant to do and who you were meant to be."

"Get away from me you sick fuck!" I said with controlled rage. Where were they with the drinks already! "I could never go with you! My life is here, Eric is here, and WE will raise these babies together, not us. You are nothing more than a one-night stand to me. A way to scratch an itch. You have no right to—" and I stopped dead. There was a look in his eyes. I'd seen that look before and now I knew where it was from. A vague recollection popped instantaneously into my head from the time I was tortured by Things One and Two. He was there. "You were there."

Anger filled his eyes and he grabbed for me. I darted away as quickly as I could to the kitchen. He pursued and I was grabbed with vampire speed into the bedroom with by a hand. I was set down gentle, but swiftly onto the bed, and I heard the door slam. I sat up to the sound of a scream, and then everything went black.

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**A/N:** I guess there will be a Part III for this chapter, and I hope it is a short one. It will be from Eric's POV if that matters to anyone. Chapter 24 is going to fun!


	26. Chapter 23 Meeting with the FBI Part III

**Chapter 23 Meeting with the FBI Part III**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of these characters; they belong to the wonderful world of Charlaine Harris.

**A/N:** Thanks for following along so far…this is a dark one—again trying some new types of writing and all reviews are welcome…the next chapter should be full of lemony sunshine.

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**Eric POV**

I heard the whole conversation. That stupid fuck! Did Preston think he could take her away from me that easily? Did he think she would go? Sookie is mine. We belong to each other, and no one is going to get between us, least of all this fucking Faery.

Sookie had the good sense to bring Preston within my reach. As she ran past her bedroom to the kitchen, I grabbed her and set her gently on the bed. I heard a scream come from Preston, and I slammed the bedroom door to find him writhing with the pain from the juice of about three dozen lemons. As I approached his body, he lay limp on the floor.

Just as I thought, he was still alive—the juice hadn't killed him as it would have a full blooded Faery. That was proof that the good doctor was right. I lifted his limp body of the floor of the hallway. There was enough juice on his skin to scar him for life, at least in his Faery form—good! I was allowing myself the pleasure in thinking that he wouldn't have much life left to live when I was done with him, but damn, then I remembered that I promised Sookie I would kill him quickly and only if necessary, no torture—(well, not much anyway). A promise bent is not a promise broken.

Preston remained out cold while Sam and I tied him up with iron chains to keep him. We had brought him out onto the porch to interrogate. I told Sara to go into the bedroom to look at Sookie and make sure she was okay. Then I splashed cold water on Preston to wake him up. "Wake up!" I said to him forcefully circling him as I spoke.

"Sookie," he said. "Gotta get Sookie," I kicked him hard in the chest and he doubled over as much as the chains would allow.

"Don't you ever speak her name again, Preston. You have no right whatsoever to speak about my bonded," I said to him as my hand came down and slapped him-WHACK! Blood splattered across Sookie's clean porch and I was glad we were in a place I could clean with a hose. I had a feeling it was going to get messy.

"She's Fae, she's one of us, Eric, let her go. She belongs to us, to me. She's going to come back to Faery to live and raise our children in the beauty and harmony of Faery. Naill,-" he began.

"I thought Naill's hand was in this," I interrupted.

"Naill told me he needs healthy young Faery women to produce babies since the population is so low. I knew when Sookie was missing; I would be rewarded if I told him where she was. So I told him where to find her when she was being tortured, and now I get to keep her. She's my reward for being helpful." I couldn't believe that Naill would "give" Sookie away to this imbecile, and I refused to believe that he would use his own great granddaughter like a brood mare. I knew that he loved her. Preston must be lying or mistaken.

"She said you were there when she was being tortured. She recognized you." I told him. He better not tell me he was there, even if he was, or I would it would be next to impossible to NOT to kill him.

"Yes I was there," he said openly and defiantly. WHACK! Blood spurted out of his mouth and sprayed across porch.

"You couldn't have known where she was unless…" I began. I was aghast that I just figured out that he'd arranged for Sookie to be taken. I challenged him on it. "Why? Why would you do that to her and then claim you love her. You're sick! She could have lost the babies."

Preston's scarred and silent stare glared back at me through defiant blue eyes.

"WHY?" I again demanded, pacing back and forth. I felt like a caged animal. I'm a vampire and I'm not impressed with people who aren't useful to me. I generally feel indifferent toward them, but I didn't know I could HATE another creature as much as I hated him right now. I would equate the strength of my hatred for Preston right now to the strength of my love for Sookie—two extreme ends of my emotional spectrum.

"Why? WHY? Because I LOVE you Eric. I've always loved you. Don't you see I did it all for you. I worked for you, I slaved for you, I would have done anything for you. Then you met Pam and you turned her and made her more important than me. She took my place. You trusted her and you stopped trusting me. You loved her and you stopped loving me. I've never stopped watching you, Eric. I saw how hard you fell for Sookie. I saw how you loved her in a different, more intense way than you loved Pam. I've always loved you like that Eric! I know you loved me once, trusted me once."

"I never loved you Preston," I interrupted. "Is this why you seduced Sookie? To get back at me?"

"No. I seduced her at the request of Naill. He wants to bring her back to Faery, or at least bring the babies back."

"Then why were you there when she was tortured?" I asked, trying to draw him out. "Surely Naill didn't…"

"No! Naill didn't have anything to do with Sookie getting captured. I did," he said with pride in his voice, like I'd be proud of his actions. Fucking Faery. WHACK! More blood spurted and a tooth or two flew across the room this time as well.

"Explain," I said through clenched teeth. I always pride myself on an even keel when extracting information, but having to talk about Sookie being tortured when I couldn't go to help her was agony. I wanted quick answers and an even quicker dispatch of pain, but patience is always a virtue, particularly when interrogating.

"Naill wanted to give Sookie a Christmas gift; he gave her me, and I made her feel wanted and loved—even needed for an evening. He said I was supposed to give her everything she had felt for you when you stayed with her, whatever that means. And she reciprocated! She's one hell of a good fuck!" WHACK! WHACK!

"Don't you ever talk about her like that again!" I screamed at him, jealously. He? With her? And she liked it? Reciprocated? I was enraged.

"What's the matter? Can't you handle the truth, Eric? I've had her and she screamed for me," he sneered at me. "She screamed my name—ALL—NIGHT—LONG!"

"ENOUGH!" I shouted. "Sam," I said to Sam, who had been standing there all the while agape, watching us in either awe or disgust…I don't think he knew which, "please get me the rest of the lemons and then go check on the women." He left and came back silently with a bag of lemons, then left us again. Preston's eyes grew big.

"What are you going to do?" he asked in a frightened tone. _Stew on it you bastard—sweat it out and wonder!_ I remained silent, but smiled knowingly as I took out a knife to peel the rind off of a lemon. I just peeled, stared and smiled and let him sweat it out for a while. "Explain," I said finally in more controlled tone.

"She was lonely because you had been occupied by the takeover," he offered. "Naill wanted her to be happy. Neither of us bargained that I would fall for her too. She's everything. She's fantastic. She's caring. She's-"

"She's MINE!" I interjected.

He would have been wise to shut his mouth, but Preston sophomoric, and continued, "I had her for an evening. I loved her for an evening. I had you occupied with your vampire politics." What? HE had me occupied? "It was perfect, I was got to know her and wooed her and made her fall for me. Then you came back to her. You took her away from me, too," he whined. "You took her away, just like you took yourself away. I had to get back at you." WHACK!

"By kidnapping and torturing Sookie? Were you trying to kill her?" I was livid. I wanted to kill him slowly. I wanted to cut him up into little pieces…

"No! I never wanted to kill her. I just wanted to teach you both a lesson. When I learned that Naill had forced you to suppress your bond until she knew what she wanted, I took the chance to arrange with the Faery torture experts to kidnap her and teach her a thing or two about loyalty. She should never have let you back in her life again! She was a bad girl…I didn't want her to stray from me again…especially not with you! But then you came back into her life again and she took you back even after you let her down." WHACK!

"Did Naill know that it was you that took his great granddaughter?!" I asked.

"No, he only knows that I saved the day by telling him where she was. It's a shame he rescued her from them. She would have caved after only a little more delicious torture. I would have been able to teach her and train her to love me and be MINE again. I had broken her—broken her away from you and I was going to keep her to myself with the added bonus of cutting your heart out in the bargain. You would have known how I've felt for the past couple hundred years."

WHACK! It was torture time now. His face looked, as Sookie had said once before, like a Boudain sausage, but now it was time for a little lemon peel under the skin. I took a knife and sliced open the skin on his wrist and slipped in a small piece of lemon rind. He screamed in agony and writhed around in his chair. "Mother fucker!" he screamed at me. WHACK! More teeth this time as well as a great deal of blood.

"Eric Northman," spoke a soft and gentle voice from the past, "I must ask you to stop that now." Without turning I knew who it was. Naill. The fun was over before it had begun—damn!

"Naill Brigant," I said as a statement of fact more than anything else.

"Your Highneth," pleaded Prethton who wath now lithping through broken teeth. "Pleathe get him away from me. He'th torturing me and he'th ruining our planth."

"Preston," said Naill contra-conspiratorially, "See now, Preston, that's where you are wrong, you misguided miscreant cousin of mine. He's not ruining MY plans, for I have no plans other than to repay my debt—my debt to you, Eric," he said turning to me, "the debt from centuries ago. You said you would take your debt in kind, but, my longtime friend, but alas, I have no more time to settle up.

"I had offered my young cousin here as a stud to give you the blessed gift of children with my much-adored great granddaughter, if she was willing. I'm sorry, I had to tell him a fib or two to get him to comply with my command, but he got into his head along the way that we were planning to keep the babies and keep Sookie and take her away from you. I assure you that nothing is farther from the truth. Now, before Sookie wakes up and comes out here to grace us with her strong opinions, I will once again take my young cousin and go. And I see you have a little cleaning up to do. Are we settled?" said Naill.

"NO! I want his blood. I want to kill him. I want him dead. He was the one that arranged for Sookie to be tortured, and he did it to get back with me. I demand retribution," I said looking Naill in the eye.

"Nonetheless Eric, I have said my piece and will take him now. Besides, you promised Sookie you wouldn't kill him. You know how she'd feel if you broke your promise," he admonished. How could he have known my promised to her? Had he been watching all this time? "We have only a few more weeks left in this world before the final gate closes. I will make sure that he comes to justice in Faery and that no harm comes to you, or Sookie and the babies, at his hand until the gate closes. It will be closing on March 17th in Ireland." It was a battle of wits, but one that I would ultimately lose if I engaged Naill. He was much older and more powerful than I, so I let it drop.

"Just get him out of my sight," I said. Poof they were gone. I kept my promise to Sookie after all. I didn't kill him.

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**Sookie POV**

_Anger filled his eyes and he grabbed for me. I darted away as quickly as I could to the kitchen. He pursued and I was grabbed with vampire speed into the bedroom with by a hand. I was set down gentle, but swiftly onto the bed, and I heard the door slam. I sat up to the sound of a scream, and then everything went black._

* * *

I woke to a scream coming from my porch and a pair of cool hands and a wet washcloth. As my eyes regained focus, I could tell that Sara was sitting next to me on my bed and looked over to see Sam sitting in the chair in the corner of my room.

"What happened? Who screamed?" I asked concerned about Eric.

"Chere, it's okay, Eric is all right. He can handle himself. How are you feeling? Do you need a drink?" asked Sam, looking concerned.

I ignored him and got up off the bed. I stood up a little fast and felt woozy, but I needed to get outside, I just felt I needed to be there. I walked past both Sam and Sara without a word and made my way out to the porch. I stood in the doorway, unobserved by any of them.

"Mother fucker!" I heard Preston shout at Eric as I approached the door. I saw Eric open-fist slap Preston. WHACK! Blood and teeth sprayed around the room.

"Eric Northman," said my great grandfather who was supposed to be behind a sealed gate right now. "I must ask you to stop that now," he was telling Eric. Naill saw me and I motioned to him to not let Eric know I was there. He closed his eyes in confirmation.

"Naill Brigant," said Eric with a little defeat in his voice, like the school bully getting caught by the principal before he could have his fun.

"Your Highneth," whined Preston. Why was he? Oh yeah, the teeth. Ha! Serves him right! I smiled a little at that. "Pleathe get him away from me. He'th torturing me and he'th ruining our planth." Plans? Naill and Preston had plans that Eric was disrupting? Hmmm...

"Preston," scolded Naill, "See now, Preston, that's where you are wrong, you misguided miscreant cousin of mine," Preston is Naill's cousin? Preston is my cousin? How close a cousin? I felt sick to my stomach. "He's not ruining MY plans, for I have no plans other than to repay my debt—my debt to you, Eric," he said turning to Eric. What debt did he owe to Eric and how was any of this repayment? Then it dawned on me, I was the repayment. I was bartered goods to my great-grandfather. "…the debt from centuries ago. You said you would take your debt in kind, but, my longtime friend, but alas, I have no more time to settle up.

"I had offered my young cousin here as a stud to give you the blessed gift of children with my much-adored great granddaughter, if she was willing." Well, I had been a willing participant in the act, no denying that, and I am glad I am pregnant, but a sperm bank and an anonymous donor were looking really good at this point!

"I'm sorry, I had to tell him a fib or two to get him to comply with my command," Gee thanks! "but he got into his head along the way that we were planning to keep the babies and keep Sookie and take her away from you." Like hell I'd let that happen—like hell Eric would allow it either for that matter! "I assure you that nothing is farther from the truth. Now, before Sookie wakes up and comes out here to grace us with her strong opinions, I will once again take my young cousin and go. And I see you have a little cleaning up to do. Are we settled?" said Naill covering for me and trying to make a quick exit.

"NO! I want his blood. I want to kill him. I want him dead. He was the one that arranged for Sookie to be tortured, and he did it to get back with me. I demand retribution," Eric revealed to Naill. I didn't know that up until now. The biological father of my children had tried to murder me. I really was with Eric on this, in spite of the promise he made me. I wanted blood now too.

"Nonetheless Eric, I have said my piece and will take him now." No! No! No! Give him to Eric and let him finish him off, let me watch! "Besides, you promised Sookie you wouldn't kill him. You know how she'd feel if you broke your promise," he admonished Eric. How could he have known what I made Eric promise? Had he been watching me all this time? "We have only a few more weeks left in this world before the final gate closes. I will make sure that he comes to justice in Faery and that no harm comes to you, or Sookie and the babies, at his hand until the gate closes. It will be closing on March 17th in Ireland." Well, that was new information. Here I had thought for weeks now that Naill was out of my life as quickly as he'd come into it, but he'd been hanging around all this time. It would have been better that he left when he said he was going to.

Eric was still contemplating what to do. "Just get him out of my sight," he said finally. Poof they were gone.

"You kept your promise, honey," I said stepping out to greet him.

"I could have killed him."

"You know something strange?" I asked as we stood embraced in each other's arms.

"What is that, my lover?" he said as he bent to kiss me.

"I wish you had." He chuckled and we went back in the house to tell Sam and Sara what had transpired. Eric explained to us the whole long story about Earl the gnome and turning Pam and finding out about Preston and meeting Naill for the first time and, well, everything.

Sara and Sam went back to his place. I pretty much guessed what they'd be doing when they got there and I hoped that Sara would be able to find some way to stay around in the area. I kind of liked her, and she and Sam REALLY seemed to like each other, so I hoped it would work out. Sam deserved to have a nice woman in his life.

Eric and I retired to my bedroom for the rest of the evening, after cleaning up the porch. I told him I could do it in the morning, but he insisted on cleaning tonight. After we'd finished, there were still a few hours left in the night and we occupied them most productively.

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**A/N:** Oh finally, the end of this chapter! Geeze, this was like a mini book within a book. Sorry about that! This was supposed to be a short wrap-up chapter, but again the characters talked and talked so much—what's a writer to do! Next up, Chapter 24!


	27. Chapter 24 Wedding

**Chapter 24 Wedding**

**A/N: **Finally! The much awaited Chapter 24, well at least I was waiting to write it anyway…hope you like! By the way, these characters belong to the incomparable Charlaine Harris. Many kudos to that great Southern lady for allowing us all to have a little extra play time!

I have to apologize. This chapter is about three chapters long, so I need to break again for about a week and write a few shorter chapters, so I can deal with school and kids etc. Enjoy!

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**Sookie POV**

I felt exhausted when I woke the next morning—the sun steaming through the window hitting me in the face. Eric had long since tucked himself away in the hidey-hole in the spare bedroom. I got up and made it to the bathroom just in time to heave what little I had left in my stomach from the night before. When I was done, I got up off my knees and burst into tears for no apparent reason and sobbed while I took a shower. I couldn't even tell you why I was crying, I just felt really sad and empty inside.

I washed my hair and cried and cried. There wasn't a soul to hear me, nor a soul to comfort me. Amelia and her new little family were still away and Eric was essentially dead until dark. The thought of that made me feel worse than ever. I would have given anything to have Eric's long arms cocooning me right now making me feel safe and sound. Sob, sob, sob. I thought of Gran and how much I wanted her to be a part of helping me raise my little brood. Sob. Sniffle.

I curled up in the bottom of my shower with the water running. Gradually the warm water got colder as I stayed huddled with my eyes shut thinking about nothing in particular and then nothing at all. Some water, by now ice cold, ran into my mouth and I tasted it—sweet, with a little chlorine, fluoride, and mineral aftertaste. I turned over onto my back and watched the water splash and bead up over my burgeoning belly. I placed both my hands on my fading tan and closed my eyes and reached my mind out to the little babies. I felt three distinct patterns, although one of them was moving around so much it almost seemed like there were two in one spot, but then Dr. Ludwig had sensed the same thing too.

Their personalities were very distinct and it made me smile. They were radiating at me, projecting their fetal brain waves in my head. I tried to think of Eric's beautiful face—a happy thought—and projected a happy feeling back at them. The feeling intensified. It was complete bliss. I tried to think of other people. Gran next. I projected an image of Gran and it made me happy, but there was nothing in return. Odd. I thought of Jason. They liked Jason. Two of the babies in particular really put forth an effort! I thought of Hunter next, since he was down on their level, they may have heard him laughing. They really went wild. If I wasn't so soon along at about 10 weeks, I would have sworn that I felt them move!

Then I tried an experiment. I thought of Preston's face and Lattesta's face. Nothing. The babies seemed to shut down and then slowly thoughts and feelings of cold, anger, fear, Fear, FEAR! I stopped immediately and thought of Eric right away and Hunter too, and they immediately began to rejoice, and—WOW! That was an undeniable movement. It couldn't have been my imagination. I will never believe anyone that tells me that it was my imagination, my babies moved for me! The thought of Eric made them move for me!

I was so happy and I wanted to shout it out to everyone, but there was no one to tell. Damn it! I got dressed quickly and called Dr. Ludwig to reconfirm our appointment for next week and to make sure that I really felt what I swear on a stack of bibles, I did, but I got her answering machine. I hung up. I called Sam's house and got his machine and hung up again. Jason? Would he be home? Yes!

"Hey Jason, it's Sookie!" I said with enthusiasm.

"Hey Sis. What's up?" he said genially.

"I think I felt them move."

"That sounds gross, Sook. Felt what move?"

"The babies!"

"The babies? Move? Really?"

"Yes, and that's not all! I can think to them about people I know and they react. They give me their impression of those people. Kind of like a built in radar detector for personalities. Isn't that cool?"

Laughing…

"What are you laughing at!" I asked a little non-plused.

"You."

"Care to elaborate?" I asked as in, stop ticking off the pregnant woman!

"Proud mamma! Only a couple months along and you are already a proud mamma."

"Damn, straight," I said with all the pride I could muster. "Hey, are you busy?"

"No I have the day off in between my shifts, why?"

"Would you go shopping with me? I know you probably don't want to, and Amelia's not in town right no-"

"Sookie, I'd love to. When can I pick you up?"

"Now? I'm lonely and I want to be with someone I know and like. This will be fun, just me and my brother."

"Ahh now, Sookie! There you go getting' all sentimental on me," he said, half jokingly-half in earnest. "See you in ten."

Shopping with my brother was interesting to say the least. We went to Shreveport and cruised through shops I'd never been in before, or dreamed of going into. I bought several new maternity outfits for my new figure and made a very quick purchase of a sexy teddy while my brother was next door in the sports shop. Eric would love it for about five minutes and then would cast it off, but I would look wonderful and feel really sexy for those five minutes! Wiggle. Apparently, the babies liked that about Eric too…hmmm.

Jason and I talked about the babies and the upcoming wedding of Remy and Amelia. We bought him a suit. It wasn't going to be a big-deal wedding and there would only be a dozen guests or so, but we were going to live it up like it was the gala affair at the Ritz. By the time we came home, the whole back of Jason's truck was full of bags and boxes. I was needless to say a little embarrassed, but Eric was going to love it! He had recently opened a line of credit for me and told me to spend until my heart's content, and I hadn't touched the thing until today. As his wife I would be expected to spend a little bit more than a Merlotte's-paycheck-to-paycheck barmaid. I knew that, and half of me promised myself I would let loose a little big, but the other half—the more sensible and economically-minded half—promised myself to fight the urge to spend anything at all tooth and nail. Guess which half lost the battle today!

When Jason pulled his car into the driveway, it was about four o'clock in the afternoon. He helped me in the front door with all my bags. I was fairly embarrassed with myself when I surveyed the damage. I was greeted with a huge hug from Amelia and Remy and was practically bowled over by Hunter.

"Hi Uncle Jason, hello Aunt Sookie, hello baby cousins!" he said loudly at my tummy. Wiggle.

"They say hello back," I said with a smile. "I bought you some coloring crayons and a brand new coloring book with dragons and knights in it. How would you like to draw at the table while Amelia and I fix some supper. Jason? Would you like to stay?"

"No thanks, sis, I have to go now. I have a date tonight."

"But it's Thursday! Who are you seeing on a Thursday?"

"Harper Drury from Hot Shot," he grinned and blushed a little and left, taking his smile with him.

I smiled and thanked him for the shopping excursion as he walked to his car. Jason would always be Jason. He's not perfect, but he has his moments of being a nice regular big brother.

By that time Remy had taken Hunter to the table and had started to show him the coloring book and the crayons. I turned to Amelia and she gave me a weary look. I asked her what was wrong.

"My father," she said simply.

"Oh no. Didn't he like Remy? How could he not like Hunter? They are both so wonderful and fun and…"

"He liked them, it's just that he didn't have them time to come to give me away. He said that he had a really important business meeting in Las Vegas with the King and he wasn't able to make it. He said if I had given him a couple days more notice, he could have arranged things differently."

"I know it's short notice, but you are his only child, and this is your first and only wedding, it would have behooved him to rearrange for you."

"I know, Sookie, but I can see his point, I mean it is the most important deal of his life."

"You're the most important daughter in his life," I countered.

"Well," she said in typical Amelia fashion, "I am not going to let it get me down. I will either find someone else, or walk down that aisle myself! Not that there is an aisle so to speak. What are we going to do about that anyway?"

"Well…" I gave her all my thoughts about how the house would be arranged and she put her two cents in and pretty soon we had planned the wedding. We were knee deep in talk and I was facing the front door away from the hall to the kitchen and the spare bedroom. "Eek!" I screamed as a pair of hands slithered around my front and a pair of cool lips caressed my earlobe. "Hello, lover," said Eric in a suggestive tone of voice.

I turned around in his arms and gave him a quick peck on the forehead (he was leaning way down) and pulled back a little to smile at him. He smiled back.

"What is going on behind those dancing eyes of yours, lover," he asked with all the curiosity of the kid on Christmas Eve.

I grinned back and stepped away from him and he let me lead him to the couch. I laid down on it and pulled his hands down and let them rest on my bare belly. I had pulled the top of my pants down a little, which caused his fangs to descend ever so slightly. "Not now, honey," I said to him. "Feel."

"What am I feeling for?"

"Just wait." We waited like this for about 5 minutes. I got bored and I think Eric did too and he moved his hands off. As soon as he did those silly little babies wiggled! "Oh you missed it!" Damn. I pulled him back and this time made him put his lips on me belly. He immediately started to kiss my tummy as he whispered softly to it. I glided off into a daze, not quite sleep, but pretty close to a subconscious state while still being aware of talking and noises, etc. Wiggle.

"I felt that Sookie, that's amazing," said Eric looking up at me in amazement. "Did that just start today?"

I explained how it did and how I thought about certain people and what the reactions were. I asked him why he thought that Gran didn't solicit any kind of response and he said it was because the babies never met her. He thought they might only react to people that they had interacted with before. We tested the theory and made a game out of it. He would suggest people and see what the babies thought about them. They seemed indifferent most people that I liked, like Pam and Sam, for example garnered no particular reaction. Bill was a very strong positive reaction and so was Naill.

"That's funny since they only encountered him last night, right?" I said still in my daze and thinking aloud.

"You saw Naill last night?" Eric looked up with amazement.

"Yes." Oops! I didn't want Eric to know what I saw.

"Oh," he said, and then pulled the conversation around to our current subject again, "but that's not their only interaction with Naill. You've been around him plenty while being pregnant, and he saved you and you were grateful. That probably was a good impression."

"True. That's probably why they like Bill, because he saved me too," I said to Eric, wishing immediately I had internalized that particular thought.

"Sure rub it in!" Eric snapped.

"Calm down honey, you know I didn't mean it like that! You know I don't hold you accountable for that. Even if I did, I am over it; it's forgotten, got it?"

A silent glare.

"GOT IT?!" An emphatic you-damn-well-better-get-it look.

"Yes." Spoken with a defeatist voice.

I changed the subject again, and with good reason. Hunger. "I'm going to go help Amelia with the dinner, and then we can all sit down to a nice meal and finalize everything for the wedding. We only have one more day left!"

* * *

After we ate, Eric and Remy did the dishes, Hunter colored, and I wrote down things that Amelia was thinking, so that we could make a check list.

**Wedding Preparations:**

**The Wedding Party:** Bride-Amelia, Groom-Remy, Bridesmaid-Sookie, Best Man-Jason, "Ring Bear-GRRR"-Hunter (Note: who will give the bride away?)

**The Guest List:** Octavia plus her beaux, Sam plus guest (Sara?), Holly and Hoyt, Pam, Bill, Eric and Bobby Burnham since he ate lunch with us when we got the licenses and since he's bringing the judge

**Things to get: **Friday get yard set up with chairs, fairy lights and tulle; make food; get TruBlood for the vamps; lay clothes out and ship Remy off to a hotel for the night?; get Eric to go to Fangtasia for the evening and replace with Pam. Saturday get the cake, and the flowers; fix hair and get dressed; wait for guests, get married and have fun! Leave for the honeymoon; S& E to watch Hunter.

**Things to do:** Call Bobby Burnham about the judge he's supposed to know. Panic!

"Panic?" I asked her. "You won't panic! This wedding will go without a hitch."

* * *

Friday did come and go without a hitch. We sent Remy and Hunter off with their suits to a hotel for the evening, so that Remy wouldn't see the bride before the wedding. Eric went to take care of Fangtasia things and sent Pam to keep us company. I knew darn well she was there to protect Amelia and I, but we were going to have girl fun nonetheless. We called Bobby Burnham and made sure that he was bringing the judge-he was. The judge's name was Slokum—Hezakiah P. Slokum, to be exact. Now that's a name you'd never forget!

Amelia and I decided to have a pajama party in the living room. We ate peanut butter and graham crackers in front of the fire and toasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Pam thought that was an insane thing to eat and we dared her to try a bite. She did and made a face. I told her it tasted as good to us as a Faery blood tasted to her, so that she could understand just how deliciously sweet they were, and then I warmed up a TruBlood for her—she drank it politely and said it wasn't nearly as satisfying as the thought of pure Fae blood.

Pam was genuinely intrigued at the idea of sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags and rolling our hair up in curlers and painting nails. I guess Pam really liked girly things. We painted nails and watched Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Pam laughed and laughed. "Is this what you made Eric watch when he was staying here with you?"

"He liked it, or he seemed to, why?" I asked a little defensively.

She shrugged. "No reason. I just have a mental image of Eric sitting here, with his hair up in curlers, watching Buffy, while you paint his nails." We all roared with laughter at that. I laughed until my sides split.

"It wasn't quite like that…but I'll never think of my betrothed the same way again." I said with a final chortle.

The rest of the night we played silly games and talked. "Let's play truth or dare," said Amelia.

"What is truth or dare?" asked Pam.

Amelia and I chuckled and explained the rules to her, "We ask you truth or dare and you tell us one or the other. If you choose truth, we ask you a personal question and you have to answer it honestly. If you choose dare, we have you do something daring or stupid or something that might get you in a little trouble. Are you game?"

"Always," said Pam in a deadpan way.

"Are you game, Sookie?" challenged Amelia.

"Bring it," I said with a sly grin. I hardly ever got to play games like this when I was a kid, except once when I was asked to sleep over at Tara's birthday party in 7th grade. It was usually an awkward game for me since I knew what everyone was going to ask, say, or dare. I certainly had the upper hand then since I didn't know how to block, but now I could put my shields up and play like a big little girl. "You're the bride, do you want to ask first or get asked first."

"I want to get asked first; I choose truth. Ask me a question," said Amelia shifting her sitting position on her sleeping bag.

"Okay, here goes my question my question for you," said Pam. "Do we each get to ask a question?"

"Yes," we both said at the same time.

"Very well. Who was your best and most talented lover; that is to say who gave you the best orgasm?" said Pam with a straight face.

"Jesus Christ, Pam!" I said in awe. "That's cut throat! You usually start with some easier questions. Are you sure you haven't played this before?"

"Quite."

"You," said Amelia simply and quietly.

"Ha! I thought so!" returned Pam with a self-satisfied, smug grin. "Your turn Sookie!"

"Ameli-" I began, but was cut off.

"Truth again," she said quickly. "I never was very good at the dares."

"Are you and Remy going to have any children together?" I thought this was personal but simple and easy.

Amelia burst out into tears. "Yes, we are. I'm pregnant too!"

I thought about her response for a split second and said, "But that's impossible! You've only been together for about a week or so. You couldn't possi-bly…oh! Oh Amelia! Tray's?"

"Mmmhmmm…"

"Does Remy…"

"Yes, that's why this is all happening so fast, and he's cute and great in bed, too, but I told him about it and he asked and I said yes!"

"Oh," I said. Well, don't judge me! I didn't know what else to say. Pam sure was keeping quiet.

"It will all work out just fine," she said. "Now," wiping a rogue tear from her eye, "who's next?"

"I'll go," said Pam. "I choose truth, too. Sookie, you ask first."

I was being put on the spot and wasn't really thrilled. I didn't have time to come up with anything good, so I asked another mundane sex question. "How many men have you had sex with and where does Eric rank?"

Peals of laughter crashed around the room. Pam even had little droplets of red in the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away and said, "three hundred forty-two and third."

"Huh? Three hundred forty-two and a third? Who was the third of a man?" I asked.

Another round of laughter. "Not a third, Sookie. Third. Eric ranks third," Pam corrected mirthfully.

"Why only third?" I asked, totally curious why the best lover out there was only third. I couldn't help myself. Who could be numbers one and two?

Pam couldn't help herself either apparently—I had never seen her bust a gut like this. "Because two were better," she barely managed to say in between rounds of guffaws. "I am not going to say who, so don't ask. And don't tell the master what I said, okay? I don't want him to worry about not being number one for all his lovers."

"Deal." Like I had any intention of talking to Eric about this evening! "As far as I am concerned, what happens at the slumber party stays at the slumber party? Agreed?" Two nods. "Okay, then it is Amelia's turn to ask or give Pam a dare, Pam?"

"Oh, ask me something. I'm too daring every day, the questions more challenging!"

"Fine. Here goes. Are you ever sad not to be able to have children?"

"No. I can't say that I have ever wanted children. I never felt a maternal instinct. I'm in it for me. I'm the prefect vampire!" We let it go at that, but both Amelia and I could sense something behind that statement.

I got up to go to the bathroom. When I came back, they were both looking conspiratorial. Oh shit! I think I was in for it. Oh well, buck up and face it like a Stackhouse! "DARE!—from both of you."

"Good. For your dare," said Pam, "you will walk across the cemetery and go to Bill's front door. I am sure he's home. You will knock on the door and when he answers you will flash him!"

"Shut up! No way! What if Eric finds out!"

"That's the fun!" said Amelia. "My dare for you is to call Eric immediately afterward and tell him what you just did!"

"I suppose it doesn't matter to you that I am a walking dead woman then! Does it? Eric's going to kill me, you know!" They both just grinned and chuckled. "Fine—you are both coming with me! I can't believe I am doing this."

So off we trooped to Bill's house. He was probably going to be thrilled for about two seconds and then maybe embarrassed? No. Not Bill. He's unemotional. One of the many reasons I preferred my Viking. Oh great, I thought as I walked, Eric. I had to call him? That was below the belt! Oh shit! We're here.

Knock. Knock. Knock. I was alone on the porch. Amelia and Pam were giggling as quietly as possible in the woods at the edge of the cemetery just by Bill's property. The door opened.

"Sookie, what a pleasant surprise," said Bill in typical even-toned fashion, "won't you come in?"

"Bill, I can't. I'm sorry. I'm with the girls tonight and…" I had to get up the nerve. Oh hell! "Bill I'm really sorry about this." And I flashed him. For a couple seconds longer than I ought to have. Bill's eyes got really big and they met mine. His fangs popped out from their hiding spots.

"You might be Sookie, but I'm not. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"To whom, you mean. We are playing truth or dare and I picked dare. Pam picked flashing you as my dare. Like I said I am sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Oh," he said as unemotionally as I thought he would.

"Thanks for not making a big deal out of this," I said to him and turned to leave.

The girls had just climbed up on the porch, thanking Bill profusely for being a good sport about it. He glared at them. "Here's your cell phone, Sookie—time for the second part of your dare!" said Amelia with a wicked grin.

I sat down on the porch and punched the button for Eric. Off in the woods, I heard the chirping of a little cell phone. It stopped as soon as Eric answered his call. "Where are you?" I said. He was supposed to be in Shreveport.

"I'm in the woods behind your house and now I am approaching you and now I am leaning down to give you a kiss," he said with his cell phone still attached to his ear. I looked up and accepted the kiss.

"I won't ask you what you are doing prowling around my woods. I don't want to know. Come on girls, let's go back and get some sleep. We have a wedding to attend tomorrow." I said with a little haughtiness in my voice. He was wise to let me go.

* * *

The next morning we rose to find that Pam had gone into the hidey-hole in the closet. We both slept in until almost noon. Bad for getting things ready, but better for the complexion. We raced around and did the last minute preps and finally a couple hours before the ceremony, began to put our hair up and our make-up on.

"Are you mad at Eric for being out in the woods?" Amelia asked out of the blue while sticking a hair pin in my up do.

"A little," I said thoughtfully, "I know he's protecting me, but I wish he'd tell me. I thought he was at Fangtasia, so it just surprised me to see him here. I'm pretty sure that he heard everything that we said last night." I wondered if he was going to be mad at Pam.

"Does that worry you?" she asked, pushing in another pin.

"Not any more. It used to, but I trust him entirely now. I can't imagine not trusting him." Wiggle. "There go those babies. They are wiggling again. Did I tell you? They wiggle around when I think of someone that they approve of."

"Think of me." She smiled as she said it.

"Okay, thinking," I said as I pulled her hand to my stomach. Wiggle. "I guess you are in the club. It doesn't work for everyone. I can think of my Gran, and they don't do a thing because they never met her and they have no opinion of her. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, and I am glad to be in the club."

"How about you, have you felt anything yet? How far along are you?" I asked. We hadn't covered that topic much last night.

"I'm three months along now…he knew, you know," she said in a melancholy voice about Tray. "At least he knew he was a father." We hugged for a really long moment. She wasn't going to cry, and I knew that she'd cried as much as one person can for another. There's a point at which you can't cry anymore, and like it or not, you begin to heal.

"Hey, you know what?" I said, desperate to change the subject. "Let's talk about this later and let's get everything ready to get married today. Sound good?" She nodded.

* * *

**Eric POV**

I didn't have any intension of being shipped off to Fangtasia for Sookie's convenience, not when I could be watching out for her. I had the bar taken care of with some of my trusted employees, so that Pam could have the night off to go and "do girl things" with Sookie and Amelia, whatever that meant. I was happiest just sitting outside making sure that Naill didn't let Preston loose again or maybe I was hoping that he would. It would be a nice, clean, quick kill this time. No torture, since he just seems to get rescued or tricks me when I try that route.

I settled in a tree overlooking the whole property and listened to the girls inside.

"Hello Mr. Burnham…Yes, I know it's late…Well, we wanted to double check that you are bringing your judge friend and that he's able to perform the ceremony…Of course I didn't doubt you, Mr. Burnham…I thought we had ironed out our differences at lunch the other day…All right then, I'm sorry too…I'll look forward to seeing you and Judge Slokum tomorrow…Good night Mr. Burnham," said Sookie over the phone. Bobby better not be giving her any more trouble.

Slokum, Slokum—Hezekiah P. Slokum? I remember him from a party Bobby threw shortly after the Great Reveal. Good choice Bobby, I said to myself. Slokum was funny and witty and pro-vampire. He'd be perfect for mine and Sookie's ceremony too. Less than a month…

So the girls were having a pajama party? I'd love to be a fly on the wall, but then again, I pretty much could do everything a fly could, but better, so the desire faded pretty quickly. They were making Pam take a bite of something called a s'more. Oh poor Pam, human food is edible, but rather disgusting.

"But it tastes as good to us as Faery blood tastes to you," Sookie was saying to Pam by way of explanation…like she'd really know so that she could understand just how deliciously sweet Faeries were, she'd never know how delicious she is, especially right now. I could feel myself getting stiff just thinking about her and what we could be doing if she didn't have company. I didn't care, I'd go and fuck her silly in front of them, but she'd get pissed, so here I am sitting in the tree!

I could hear the beep of the microwave as either Sookie or Amelia had warmed up a bottle of TruBlood for Pam—she'd drink it politely, but I knew she was just barely tolerating it.

"And you sleep on the floor? In these…cloth bags?" Pam was saying to Sookie. I could just imagine her face looking appalled at the thought of it.

"Yes, haven't you ever seen a sleeping bag?" asked Sookie. "…and then we are going to do each other's hair and paint our nails." Oh Pam was going to be in seventh heaven. She'd always liked to dress up and paint herself, ever since it became fashionable. They were all quiet now and I could hear some familiar voices in the back ground. I remembered, when I got me memories back, watching some horribly insipid television show called Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Sookie made me watch it to keep me occupied when she slept. It wasn't long before I seduced her…then there had been no time to watch anything. Ah the memories!

All the sudden I could hear Pam laughing and laughing. "Is this what you made Eric watch when he was staying here with you?" she was asking Sookie.

"He liked it," said Sookie, and nothing could be farther from the truth. I tolerated it and found the characters mildly amusing and not at all realistic. I only put up with it to keep my mind off fucking you senseless, my darling Sookie. Even with my memory lapse, I still knew what and who I wanted. "…or he seemed to, why?" Sookie asked a little defensively.

Pam spoke. "No reason. I just have a mental image of Eric sitting here, with his hair up in curlers, watching Buffy, while you paint his nails." There was entirely too much laughter at that statement. I will be speaking to Pamela about this when I see her next. She should know better than to mock me!

"It wasn't quite like that…but I'll never think of my betrothed the same way again." Sookie said to her. Even she was mocking me and I can't speak to her because she isn't supposed to know I'm here. Damn, I love it when she calls me "her betrothed." I can't wait for her to finally recognize me as her husband. Of course I already am her husband in my world, but it's her world that matters to her. Once she says, "I Do," she will be mine, and she'll know it! She'll recognize it. She'll finally accept it.

I could tell the television had been turned off and there were lots of concealed whispers and lots of giggling. I don't know why women whisper and giggle so much. Even Pam does that sometimes and it drives me crazy with annoyance. Then Amelia spoke. "Let's play truth or dare."

"What is truth or dare?" asked Pam. Thanks Pam! I wanted to find out myself.

Amelia and Sookie were chuckling and explained the rules to her, "We ask you truth or dare and you tell us one or the other. If you choose truth, we ask you a personal question and you have to answer it honestly. If you choose dare, we have you do something daring or stupid or something that might get you in a little trouble. Are you game?"

"Always," said Pam in a serious tone. She loved party games, and this one sounded right up her alley.

"Are you game, Sookie?" Amelia asked Sookie in a taunting voice.

"Bring it," Sookie said and by the way she spoke, I knew she had a sly grin on her face. Then being the perfect little Southern hostess she is, she offered the first turn to Amelia, saying, "You're the bride, do you want to ask first or get asked first."

"I want to get asked first; I choose truth. Ask me a question," said Amelia as she rustled around.

"Okay, here goes my question my question for you," said Pam. "Do we each get to ask a question?" Pam was trying to get a handle on all the little rules of this game so that she could beat them both at it. That's my Pam.

"Yes," Sookie and Amelia chimed in together. They sounded a little exasperated, but I could hardly blame Pam for asking. She hadn't played before. She'd beat them both.

"Very well. Who was your best and most talented lover; that is to say who gave you the best orgasm?" said Pam. Good question Pam. I wondered what the witch was going to say to that.

"Jesus Christ, Pam!" said Sookie with alarm in her voice. I could feel a little panic flow through the bond. I wondered if I should go down there to make sure everything was okay. Then she quelled my worry by saying, "That's cut throat! You usually start with some easier questions. Are you sure you haven't played this before?" Cut throat? Ha! That's vampire at its best, my dear, that's vampire at its best!

"Quite." Pam responded to Sookie defiantly. I was up on the tree branch laughing my ass off.

"You," said Amelia quietly, but not so quietly that I couldn't make out what she said. Pam must be reveling in that response. She always enjoyed being the best lover…well the best besides me!

"Ha! I thought so!" said Pam sounding smug. "Your turn Sookie!"

"Ameli-" Sookie started, but Amelia cut her off.

"Truth again," she said quickly. "I never was very good at the dares." Boring, but truth kept them safe, dares might make them do something dangerous. I didn't know if I'd like that or not.

"Are you and Remy going to have any children together?" Sookie asked. I wondered why she'd ask that particular question, did it really matter?

Amelia burst out into tears. "Yes, we are. I'm pregnant too!" I was astonished, hat's off to Remy. He sure moved fast!

But just as I was doing the mathematical calculation in my head, Sookie said, "But that's impossible! You've only been together for about a week or so. You couldn't possi-bly…oh! Oh Amelia! Tray's?"

"Mmmhmmm…" agreed Amelia. Tray. He died fighting for my Sookie. My hat was already off to him.

"Does Remy…" inquired Sookie.

"Yes, that's why this is all happening so fast, and he's cute and great in bed, too, but I told him about it and he asked and I said yes!" I wondered about that statement. I wondered if Sookie would like to get married even sooner. We already had the license for Louisiana, but we could just as easily fly to Las Vegas. I'd ask her tomorrow and see what she thought.

"Oh," said Sookie. OH? What kind of a response was that? That left me very little to go on. Did she approve of Remy and Amelia, did she approve of us? Great, more to talk to her about. She's so complicated for a simple human!

"It will all work out just fine," said Amelia. Those words were music to my ears. I hoped they would dispel Sookie's doubts, if she did have any. "Now, who's next?" I hoped it would be Sookie. I hoped they would ask her a question about me and she could reveal something to them that she'd never say to me. Women are funny that way.

"I'll go," said Pam. Darn it Pam! "I choose truth, too. Sookie, you ask first."

I felt a little awkwardness drift over to me. Sookie blurted out, "How many men have you had sex with and where does Eric rank?" Holy shit! That was an interesting question. Pam better be careful how she phrases her response. It better say that I am number one on her list. After all, I was her first, and certainly her most skilled lover. Not to brag, but I've been doing it for over a thousand years. I've picked up a thing or two along the way.

You wouldn't have needed vampiric hearing to hear the peals of laughter that emanated from the house. Pam answered, "Three hundred forty-two and third." Third Pamela? Third? Since when did I fall to third? Who are the other two, your hand and your ego?

Sookie misunderstood and interrupted my train of thought by asking, "Huh? Three hundred forty-two and a third? Who was the third of a man?"

Her statement caused more laughter, and I had to chuckle to because it really was dumb mistake. "Not a third, Sookie. Third. Eric ranks third," Pam corrected mirthfully. Sure laugh it up further Pam!

"Why only third?" asked Sookie sounding totally confused by that. Good girl! You know I am the best. Pam's just pulling your leg. She has to be. Right?

Pam couldn't help herself apparently—I had never heard her laugh so hard. "Because two were better," she barely managed to say in between rounds of guffaws. She certainly wasn't acting the way my second should act, nor my child. "I am not going to say who, so don't ask. And don't tell the master what I said, okay? I don't want him to worry about not being number one for all his lovers." Too late.

"Deal," said Sookie. "As far as I am concerned, what happens at the slumber party stays at the slumber party? Agreed?" Silence. "Okay, then it is Amelia's turn to ask or give Pam a dare, Pam?"

"Oh, ask me something. I'm too daring every day, the questions more challenging!"

"Fine. Here goes. Are you ever sad not to be able to have children?" I worried at one time about that, but Pam told me she never wanted any children, so I left it at that. I was interested in her response to others. Could it be I was wrong?

"No. I can't say that I have ever wanted children. I never felt a maternal instinct. I'm in it for me. I'm the prefect vampire!" And yes she was.

There was a little whispering going on between Pam and Amelia. I heard a toilet flush…that must have been Sookie, who suddenly shouted, "DARE!—from both of you." Finally, a dare and a little bit of fun. They better not make her do anything too dangerous, or too stupid. Nothing that would hurt her or the babies.

"Good. For your dare," said Pam, "you will walk across the cemetery and go to Bill's front door. I am sure he's home. You will knock on the door and when he answers you will flash him!" Pamela! You are skating on thin ice tonight! You know I don't want Sookie outside at night alone!

"Shut up! No way!" exclaimed Sookie. "What if Eric finds out!" Too late.

"That's the fun!" said Amelia. "My dare for you is to call Eric immediately afterward and tell him what you just did!" Again too late, I already know.

"I suppose it doesn't matter to you that I am a walking dead woman then! Does it? Eric's going to kill me, you know!" She wasn't far from the truth. Of course I wouldn't kill her, and I knew she had to go through with it. I'd be embarrassed if she didn't, but I didn't like the thought of Bill seeing those beautiful breasts again. He didn't deserve it! Amelia and Pam were just laughing at her. "Fine—you are both coming with me! I can't believe I am doing this." Neither can I Sookie, but you must—you agreed to it.

They marched off with a mission to Bill's house. I would have loved to know what Sookie was thinking during the few minutes it took to get there. The other two fell behind to leave Sookie to face Bill on her own. I secretly admired her sense of character as she rapped on the door. Knock. Knock. Knock. The door opened.

"Sookie, what a pleasant surprise," said Bill in typical even-toned fashion, "won't you come in?" I was actually pleased to hear him ask her that. I'm glad he wanted to get her into the safety of his house, but I fully knew his ulterior motive in doing so.

"Bill, I can't. I'm sorry. I'm with the girls tonight and…Bill I'm really sorry about this." And she flashed him—longer than she ought to have. Bill was thoroughly enjoying himself—his fangs dropped. Careful Bill!

"You might be Sookie, but I'm not. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Perhaps your lucky stars? I thought.

"To whom, you mean. We are playing truth or dare and I picked dare. Pam picked flashing you as my dare. Like I said I am sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Oh," he said as unemotionally as I thought he would. Again with the OH! Oh—he is sorry that he'd love to fuck her and can't, or he'd be a really dead vampire? Or Oh—he's sad because he's too smart, knows he's not allowed to even think of her that way anymore, and has a modicum of self preservation?

"Thanks for not making a big deal out of this," she said and turned away to leave.

The girls had just climbed up on the porch, thanking Bill profusely for being such a good sport about it. He glared at them. For that glare alone, I'd forgive them for dragging Sookie outside in the woods at night where anything, or anyone, more importantly, could get her. "Here's your cell phone, Sookie—time for the second part of your dare!" said Amelia.

She sat down on the porch and punched a number. I wasn't too far off in the woods. My phone chirped. It stopped when I answered my call. "Hello lover."

"Where are you?" Sookie said in a clipped tone. I could tell she was mad since she thought I was at Fangtasia.

"I'm in the woods behind your house," I said moving rapidly toward Bill's porch, "and now I am approaching you," I said, walking toward her across the front lawn, "and now I am leaning down to give you a kiss," I said with my cell phone still attached to my ear. I took it from my ear and snapped it shut. She looked up and I could tell she was very, very mad, but with all her dignity, she accepted my kiss.

She was cross and immediately said, "I won't ask you what you are doing prowling around my woods. I don't want to know. Come on girls, let's go back and get some sleep. We have a wedding to attend tomorrow." I let her go without causing a scene.

* * *

"Prowling around my woods…" Sookie's words were disturbing me during my daytime sleep. Did she think I was stalking her? Was I? No! I was only trying to protect her…

I awoke from my spot at Bill's place. Bill was still resting and I took the liberty of showering and changing into the clothes I had left there to attend the wedding. I went over there immediately to find Sookie and see if she and I could talk about last night and see if there was anything that she needed to do before the other guests started arriving.

She was sitting in the back yard—a vision of loveliness. Dressed to the nines, hair done to perfection, hands on her belly and her eyes were shut. I floated over to her and sat down next to her. "Hello, lover," I said.

I half expected her to scream, but I think she sensed me coming. "Hello, back atcha, lover," she said. She opened her eyes without shifting her body at all and looked off to the side to find my hand. She grabbed it and pulled it to her stomach, interlacing her fingers with mine and held it there. I could feel the little babies in there wiggling around. I could have sat there for an eternity with her like this. This was blessed, this was perfection, this was-

"OH! Wake up you two! The guests are arriving" interrupted the witch.

Octavia, the other older witch, arrived first, without her beau. He sent his apologies. Jason sauntered in next, followed by Bobby Burnham and Judge Slokum. I pulled Bobby aside and spoke to him about the conversation he had with Sookie last night. "Did you give her a hard time?" I asked him.

"No, Mr. Northman, not too hard a time. I am warming to her. Don't worry I behaved myself," he said, by way of an apology to me. I just couldn't figure out why he wouldn't like her. He was the only person I had ever met that didn't immediately become enchanted.

"See to it that you don't. I don't want her upset in any way, understood?"

"Yes Mr. Northman. Understood."

Everything seemed to be well in hand. The remaining guests were here and Remy had just pulled in with Hunter in his little matching suit. I couldn't help myself, I really like that kid. It might have been his Fae blood, like Sookie, but beyond that, there was something about him that I adored. I was actually excited to see him again. He ran up to me and I leaned down to pick him up as little guy flew up into my arms giving me a huge hug. "Hello Hunter. Do you want to go see your Aunt Sookie?" I asked him, looking over and Remy, who nodded his assent.

"Yes, please, Uncle Eric," he said practically jumping up and down in my arms. Sookie was in her bedroom with Amelia, avoiding seeing Remy before the wedding. I was glad to see that this particular custom was still the same as I remembered it from a thousand years ago. Some things never change, I guess. "Aunt Sookie, Aunt Sookie! Mommy Amelia, Mommy Amelia!" exclaimed Hunter and he wriggled free from my grasp.

Hunter flung himself around Amelia's and Sookie's necks at the same time, almost knocking both of them down at once. They were happy to see him, although Amelia looked upset about something. Sookie looked up at me with a concerned look.

"Ladies," I began diplomatically, "what seems to be the matter."

They both looked flustered and then Hunter spoke up, "Mommy Amelia is sad that her daddy won't give her to my daddy. Aunt Sookie wants to ask you to do it, but she thinks you'll say no."

I looked at Sookie. Didn't she trust me? I'd do anything she asked of me. If it would make her happy, I would do it. "Of course I will. I would be honored." That was spreading it on a little thick, I don't think I am entirely honored, per se, but of course I would give Amelia away, if Sookie was happy in the bargain.

Suddenly, all three of them were hugging me. "Thank you," whispered Sookie in my ear, "you saved the day." A hero! Well, I could live with that! I fully anticipated reaping all the rewards of being a hero, but that would wait until later. Right now, I wanted to get Sookie alone, so I could talk to her about an idea I had last night.

"Sookie, can I speak with you alone?"

"Not right now, honey…we have to get going…the wedding."

The ladies touched up their makeup one last time and Sookie left the room and told me to stay put. I don't like to be told what to do, even by Sookie, but I listened tonight because I really didn't know what was expected of me. Amelia stood with Hunter in front of her. There was some hustle and bustle outside of the door and people were being asked to sit down. Sookie came back in with two bouquets of fresh cut flowers and said, "Positions! Hunter do you remember what Daddy told you to do? I will keep my shields down if you need to ask me if you are doing everything right, okay? Amelia? Are you ready? Eric, do you know what to do?"

I knew I had to give her away, but I wasn't sure of the new customs, did I need to do something, or say something? "Why don't you refresh my memory." There that sounded a little less like I didn't know what I was doing, which was closer to the truth than anything.

Sookie looked exasperated. "I want you to walk Amelia down the aisle. Let her lead you down there. When Judge Slokum asks 'who gives this women to wed this man' you say, 'I do,' and that's all, then you back away and sit next to Hunter and keep him still. Simple, right?"

"Simple," I said.

"All right then, lady and gentlemen, let's do this wedding!" Sookie said, with all the air of a military commander. I hadn't ever seen this side of her before—this domineering and in-charge side and I liked it. Amelia's arm wrapped around mine as I offered it to her and Sookie led the way outside.

Hunter followed Sookie down the very short aisle made up of two sets of chairs on either side. Amelia walked at a normal pace until we got to the end of the aisle. They had opted not to have any music to march down the aisle, as I understood was the normal custom. "Who gives this woman to wed this man?" said Judge Slokum. "I do" I responded and backed away and sat with Hunter. Sookie looked over at me approvingly, with a killer grin on her face. Then she turned her face to watch Remy and Amelia.

The civil ceremony was over in a matter of five minutes.

The judge presented the couple to the small gathering and pronounced them husband and wife and that was it. It was over. Everyone rose and greeted Mr. and Mrs. Savoy and milled around eating food or drinking blood, depending on the guest.

I sought Sookie out again, determined to speak with her, but was pulled away at the last minute by Bill who was apologizing profusely, again, for last night. "I don't want to be reminded of it again, Bill, you withstood her unorthodox test of will and passed. You are forgiven, wholly and utterly forgiven, if you just let me get by you to talk to Sookie, RIGHT NOW!" Bill stepped aside.

Sookie wasn't anywhere to be seen. I ran into Jason. "Jason, where is your sister?"

"Sookie?" he asked like he has eleven sisters to think about, not just one.

"Yes, Sookie. Have you seen her?"

"Yeah man, she's in the kitchen. Are you having a good time?" he asked. That was an odd question coming from Jason to me. I think he generally didn't like me. Maybe it was the beer talking. He smelled like a brewery. It was on the tip of my tongue to answer him when I thought of something I need to ask him in return.

"Come with me, Jason." I took him off to an unused spot in the back yard of the house. "I am going to marrying your sister, but it occurred to me that I should ask your permission as you are the closest male relative she has." I couldn't bring myself to say the man of the family, since he had yet to prove it to me. "Will you give me your blessing?"

"Sure dude, whatever, take her, she's yours," he said in a blasé fashion. Permission granted, but taken for granted. I wanted him to be serious about his sister for once.

"Jason. This is your very last chance to take care of your sister. You have walked away from every other responsibility you should have taken in caring for her and for your grandmother when she was alive. Please take this seriously. May I have your sister's hand in marriage, will you give us your blessing."

He was silent for a long moment while my words sank in. "Yes. Yes Eric, as Sookie's closest relation, I give you permission to marry her. Promise me you'll take care of her better than I did." I couldn't have glamoured him into saying more fitting words. I bid him thank you and went into the kitchen to find Sookie and ask her to marry me tonight.

She wasn't there. I followed her voice and found her in the bedroom upstairs helping Amelia change. "May I come up?"

"NO! Naked lady up here!" Sookie shouted to me.

"If it's you, I'm coming up and no telling what I'll do when I get up there!" I teased. I took another step on the creaking stairs to show I was serious.

"It's Amelia, so just hold your horses! I'll be with you in a minute! Okay, I think you are all set. I'll miss you."

"You have all the instructions for taking care of Hunter?"

"Yes. Listen to you, MOM! He'll be fine and you and Remy can call every night, but I hope you don't! Just go and have a good time!"

I stood on the stairs as Sookie and Amelia breezed past me on their way back down. Amelia was leaving now with Remy. As I approached the bottom the stairs to watch them, Hunter flew out from the living room for one final good-bye. Sookie stood next to me with Hunter in my arms waving to his parents. As we turned to go inside, I whispered to Hunter to go and find Uncle Jason because I wanted to speak to Aunt Sookie for a minute. I set him down and he trotted off.

Sookie turned to go after him, but I caught her arm. "Sookie, you elusive lover of mine, I've been trying to speak to you all night. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"I really should watch Hunter," she said.

"Hunter will be just fine. I want to ask you something."

"Okay. Ask."

"Will you marry me?"

"We're engaged, yes I am marrying you. Was that all?"

"No, you misunderstand, lover, will you marry me tonight? Right now, before the Judge gets too tired to perform another ceremony?" I stared at her as seriously as possible so that she would know I meant business.

Her face was completely white like she'd just seen a ghost. "What?"

"Tonight, you, me, married? This is where you say, 'yes'."

She stood there for a minute or two, working things out in her head. Then a very hopeful slow grin spread across her face. "Let's go." She said and with the same militaristic attitude that I had just come to admire, she snapped Jason to attention and asked Pam to stand for her and I asked Bobby to stand for me. The Judge was tipped very heavily for performing two services in one evening and just like that we were wed.

The last guests left, Bill walked home, and I offered to put Hunter to bed. We read a couple books and he fell asleep in record time. I was more than ready to ravage my new bride all night. I made my way down the hall to her room, now our room. As I opened the cracked door, I saw that the entire room was alight with all the candles Sookie owned. The bed was freshly made and right in the middle of it lay my new bride in what appeared to be a brand new dark-blue penoir—snoring like a lumberjack.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

What a whirl-wind night I had had tonight. I was a bridesmaid and a bride in the same evening. All the guests went home, leaving Eric—MY HUSBAND—and I with Hunter. Eric offered to put Hunter to bed and read him some books. I loved the way they were bonding. Hunter really seemed to like Eric, too.

I decided to use the time to prepare my room—OUR ROOM—for our impromptu wedding night. I got my candle lighter and every candle that I owned and soon made the room look very romantic. I changed into my new nightie and sat on the bed and waited for—MY HUSBAND—to come to me. I liked the word—husband—I would like to introduce him to people as my husband. Yawn. I wondered what was taking him so long. I laid my head down on my quilt for just a second while I waited for him…

…I woke up to Eric's face hovering above mine, smiling. I looked up at him and smiled too. "You know you have to stop sneaking these marriages on me! You need to give a girl a heads-up once in a while!"

Eric continued to grin, still floating above me. He slowly lowered himself down on me, being careful of course, not to put his full weight on my belly. I wanted him and unleashed my hold that I had been maintaining over the bond, so that he knew how I felt. I got the same intense feeling in return.

He started off slowly. Painfully slowly. Kissing me in a long deep kiss that seemed to have no end. My husband was a good kisser. Very slowly and deftly, he untied each bow all the way down the front of my penoir. I was glad I bought the one that had the ties in the front. After each bow, he would stop and pay attention to the parts of me that he had just unleashed from hiding. He moved down my body in a straight line, avoiding my breasts, which was driving me insane with desire. I wanted to scream at him to touch them and I knew he could feel it. He looked up at me and smirked. I flicked him, which really hurt!

He took a moment to silently kiss my finger and make a tut-tut tongue clicking noise of admonishment, before going back to his own personal form of pleasurable torture. I was so pent up with a desire I was about an inch away from my first orgasm of the evening. Damn, but he was good. "Look at me lover," he said as he reached the last bow. That particular bow was placed directly over my crotch. He took the strings into his mouth and tugged a little. It was enough movement down there at just the right time to send me over the edge. He chuckled. "We haven't even begun, wife. Get your jar ready." Oh shit, was I in for it this evening!

No sooner had spoken the words, than had his long and very talented fingers inside me. I was gasping and reaching to pull him up so I could kiss him. He obliged for a second or two, but went back down below to replace his fingers with his tongue. I gasped his name as I came a second time. More chuckling, but still he went on relentlessly darting in and out and licking, kissing, and occasionally biting lightly. I was a helpless quivering jellyfish by the time round three was over with.

He kissed his way back up my body paying attention this time to my breasts, before nuzzling my neck. He whispered in my ear, but it was in Old Norse, so I had no idea what he was saying. "Please Eric, I have to know."

"Know what, wife," he said still nuzzling.

"What are you saying to me?" I pulled away from him a little to look at him. "Please tell me. Please don't keep it a secret any more. I have to know, in English."

"I love you," he whispered simply and looked at me earnestly and proceeded to kiss me.

"I love you? I love you? That's what you have been saying to me all along? Ever since you and I first made love in this bed, you've been saying this to me? Why didn't you tell me then what it meant?"

"I wanted to hear you say it first. I could feel it from you, but as soon as I felt your love through our bond and saw your smiling face and your blush, you would see it was me and you would shut down and deny your true feelings. You had to accept them before I would be able to believe that you were willing to be mine. Your love restored our bond. You declared you loved me because you finally realized it was true. I, on the other hand, have loved you for a lot longer."

"You are smug, my husband," I said and I kissed him quickly on his lips, then the tip of his nose. I smiled at him. "You are also kind of stupid." That garnered me a spank on my bottom.

"Stupid? How dare you call me stupid? You are my wife now and you will not address me like that again! In public, OR in private. Understood?"

The spank was kind of sexy, but the dressing down was not! "I will call them like I see them, and you were stupid for an opportunity lost, but so was I. I loved you back then too, but was afraid to commit to saying so because I didn't think you would love me back."

"Oh," he said.

"OH? What do you mean by OH?"

"Oh, I wish I had told you a long time ago. Oh, I AM a stupid fool for allowing you to drift away like I did. Oh, I almost lost you on more than one occasion. Oh, that would have killed me. Oh, I am glad we are finally on the same page about our feelings. Oh, I want you right now." And with that he started kissing me frantically, like a high school boy with his first real girlfriend. With vampiric speed he was literally everywhere at once. I was nothing more than a rag doll in his hands.

I stayed with the same theme, "Oh, I want you inside me right now, Eric Northman, RIGHT NOW!"

He growled, "Anything you say Sookie Northman," as he thrust into me at full speed, "beloved wife," thrust, "lover," thrust, "confidant," thrust, "soul mate," thrust, "angel," thrust…

"OH! ERIC!" I screamed looking at his beautiful blue eyes. "I love you!"

"Oh, I love you too, Sookie," he said as he bit my neck and drank teetering on the own edge. I bit him back, on his chest, at just about the same spot that I drank from when we bonded in Rhodes. It surprised him a lot and he came hard and fast as I sucked.

I fell asleep in his arms shortly after that and awoke in the morning to Hunter coming in the bedroom asking me for some breakfast. Thank god Eric had dressed me back up again in a flannel nightgown during the night. He's always thinking of me.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading this long thing!

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	28. Chapter 25 Meanwhile

**Chapter 25 Meanwhile, back at the ranch…**

**3****rd**** person narrative Preston, Niall and Dr. Ludwig**

"So many teeth missing Preston—no wonder you are lithping!" admonished Dr. Ludwig with a wicked twinkle in her eye. She wasn't overly fond of treating Preston and his particular mental/behavioral disorder, but had done so over the years as a courtesy to Niall. The sooner she was done with him tonight, the better. Once a week for 500 years? Steady income coupled with steady frustration, not to mention steady anxiety.

She administered a mild sedative that made Preston fall asleep. Niall advised that it would be easier for him to maintain Preston in a sedated state while he waited for the March 17th deadline. He intended to thank Dr. Ludwig for all her hard work and years of service by leaving her a very tidy sum of money.

"You let him escape again, your Highness," said Dr. Ludwig gently, but firmly to Niall. "I've warned you that he's devious and manipulative. Remember the time that he escaped and hooked up with Eric? You couldn't find him for over fifty years, and it took me days to remove that fishing pole! At least you caught him relatively quickly this time."

"A moth to the flame, my dear doctor, a moth to the flame," said Niall.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that at the very least, he's infatuation with all-things-Eric is so deep, that I know he will always be found somewhere in Eric's world. At least this time his damage was not much worse than getting Sookie pregnant. From what I could hear before I made my presence known, he really seems to feel strongly for her too. Although, he could just as easily have killed her as having had sex with her. I am glad it was the latter, and besides I think she likes the idea of a family. She loves Eric and he loves her in return, and a family is something that they could never have together. If I know anything about that particular vampire, I know that he'll protect her until his final death, and from what I know about my great granddaughter, she will do the same. Ah well, all's well that ends well, right?"

"True," said Dr. Ludwig, thoughtfully. Then returning back to her business-sensible self said, "Are you capable of keeping him sedated and under control this time?"

"I think so. I will have the best guards watching him and-"

"Excuse me for interrupting, your highness, and I know you have a lot of things to take care of, but it truly would be better if one of us was to watch him at all times. I can cancel all my patients for the next month to keep an eye on him, but you will need to guarantee that I will be able to get some sleep too. I want you, specifically you to watch him while I am sleeping."

"Very well, I agree. I will set some time away from my duties and will watch him now while you make the necessary arrangements with your clients."

"Thanks," said Dr. Ludwig, "but I can take the first shift and still call people."

"Very well. I will relieve you in about eight hours." And with that Niall vanished into one of the few remaining portals to take care of some Faery business.

Dr. Ludwig called the few patients she took care of and was saving Sookie for last as she wanted to talk to her longer. She wanted to recommend a doctor just in case, but thought she would be doing fine without her services for another couple weeks, but she never got to place that call. From behind her, Preston, who had built up a tolerance to the sedative, grabbed Dr. Ludwig's head and twisted quickly until he heard and felt the tell-tale snap and felt her body go limp. He opened a long since forgotten Faery portal that he was sure Niall didn't even remember and dragged her body in and hid it in the Faery realm. Before he transformed into the likeness of Dr. Ludwig, he checked her appointment book to make sure he knew the day and time of Sookie's next appointment. Tomorrow, how convenient!

* * *

**A/N:** It has been a while, but blame those pesky kids of mine (school's back in, etc) and a bit of writer's block…all the sudden the words aren't flowing like they were! I will post more soon. Thanks again for reading and posting reviews—they keep me honest! I can see this is a bismally short chapter, but I feel posting it will keep me going at this point!


	29. Chapter 26 At Eric's Apartment

**Chapter 26 At Eric's Apartment**

Sookie POV

Hunter and I had gone shopping in Shreveport, and I had decided to stay overnight there with Eric instead of going back to Bon Temps. I bought us some new undies and socks and some pajamas for the night and I thought we could just put our same clothes on for the next day.

"It will be fun to surprise Uncle Eric, won't it?" I asked Hunter.

He grinned, and asked, "Will Uncle Eric have a room for me?"

"Yes sweetie-pie, he said he had a surprise in it for you. I haven't seen it yet and I don't know what it is, so we'll find out tonight!"

"Oh boy!" said Hunter who wore a grin all the rest of the day.

I had an appointment with Dr. Ludwig later in the evening, but I knew that she could find me, nonetheless I did try to leave a message on her voice mail. When I called her phone I received a message that she was out of range. I didn't think anything of it.

"Sookie," said Eric when I showed up at Fangtasia with Hunter, "what I pleasant surprise!" He bent to kiss me, more politely than he would have had Hunter not been right there. Hunter was staring around at all the gyrating vampires on the dance floor and he had his ears covered from the noise of the music.

"Can we go into your office?" I asked Eric. "I don't think the bar area is the best place for a pre-schooler to be."

"Follow me," he said as he swooped Hunter up in his arms and sped across the room to his office.

"Thanks," I said as I followed him.

"So tell me," he began as closing the door behind us, "what brings you here tonight instead of being safe and sound at home?"

"Shopping!" I said with a grin.

"Spending all my money?" he teased. He knew that I hated references to me taking money from him. Yes we were married, but still, I had my job, my house, my money, and most importantly my pride and independence.

So, I guess I was a little perturbed at his jibe. I hadn't spent a lot in the first place, nor had I spent one dime of my husband's money, so I volleyed back "No! I have my OWN money, I am not going take YOURS and spend it all in one place!"

He roared with laughter, "That hilarious! I'd like to see you try!"

"Try?"

"Yes try to spend all the money…I don't think you could do it, you wouldn't live long enough!" he grinned wickedly at me. I don't know exactly why, maybe because I was poor as a church mouse most of my life, but the thought of how much money Eric truly had scared me a little. Being scared put me on edge, and being on edge rolled into being angry.

"Eric, you are making me more than a little angry. Can you please stop rubbing in how much money you have? I just wanted to ask if we could crash at your place tonight instead of driving back to Bon Temps. I have an appointment, remember? I thought maybe you'd like to be with me, but now I am not so sure I want to be with you! Come on Hunter let's go back home now."

"But," began Hunter, "I want to see Uncle Eric tonight. He tells me stories about Vikings and ships and sailing, and what about my surprise?"

"Come on Sookie, my love, please stay?" chimed in Eric—ever the opportunist. Those two were quite a team!

"All right fine!" I said. "But I don't want to hear you teasing me about spending money. I used my OWN and I didn't touch any of YOURS!"

Eric looked annoyed. "Sookie, who are you?"

I was confused by the question, so I said, "Huh? I'm a barmaid and a telepath?"

"WHO are you? Not what are you. What is your name?" he asked again, gently, but earnestly.

"My name? My name is Sookie Stackhouse Northman. Why? Where are you going with this?" I asked confused. While Eric pressed this line of questioning, Hunter had found something in the corner to occupy him.

"Right..." He looked at me for a while as if he were trying to will me in to understanding his point. Finally, he gave up and spoke. "Sookie, I am your husband, correct?"

"Yes."

"You are my wife, correct?"

"Yes," I said, but was thinking, just get on with it and make your point already!

"Are you happy about this, my lover?"

Okay, that floored me. "About being married?…yes ecstatic-of course-why? Aren't you?"

"Lover, getting you to finally marry me was the best day of my long, long life. Sookie do you remember what I told you when I had lost my memory? About giving you everything I had?"

"Yes," I said. Now I was beginning to understand where he was going.

"Everything I have is yours. Do you understand this?" he said looking hopeful that it was finally sinking in.

"Yes everything that you have is mine too, I get it. Is that why you looked so angry?" I asked in exasperation.

"Yes, lover. I don't ever want you to tell me not to worry about YOU not spending any of MY money. Please try to understand how much that infuriates me. You are Mrs. Northman, my wife, my lover, my friend, my partner in everything…you are my life." He looked so serious about this. I didn't know how much this sharing thing had really truly meant to him until just now. I didn't know what to say, so I just looked in his eyes while I thought.

Finally I said, "You are my life too. I won't ever think of us as separate again—even financially. You'll just have to give me a little wiggle room to get used to all this. I've had a busy couple of months and I am just reeling from it all. Can you forgive me for upsetting you?"

"My lover, you didn't upset me, I just want you to remember who you are now and what you have and what we share together."

"I do know what I have—I have you!" I shot back at him. "I have OUR little family growing inside me too. What more could a girl want?"

He smiled at me and caught me with a kiss that grew more and more passionate until a little voice from across the room interrupted it. "Aunt Sookie? I'm hungry; when we get to Uncle Eric's can I have a snack before bed?"

I looked up at Eric who was at the same time both amused and annoyed at the interruption. He spoke, "When we get to the apartment, I will fix you a glass of warm milk and some animal crackers, Hunter, while your Aunt Sookie puts your things away in your room and then I will tell you a Viking tale before bed. How about that?"

"I love animal crackers, but can the milk be cold?" he asked. I had to laugh, I loved the comforting sound of warm milk, but I thought it was disgusting too. I wondered where Eric even came up with warm milk and animal crackers of all things!

* * *

After we arrived at the apartment, I was still chuckling to myself, and had a big grin on my face. Eric pulled me to the side and quickly asked why I was smirking. "Animal crackers," I said, shaking my head and still grinning as I headed off to the little bedroom that Hunter would use.

I walked down the hall to where Eric had a room set up for Hunter. I crossed into the doorway and turned the light on. I stood there for a couple minutes in awe and amazement. Eric had taken time, effort and a great deal of "our" money and had transformed this little bedroom into Valhalla! There was a Viking longboat for a bed, a shield formed the top of the bedside table, and oars formed the legs of it. The walls were painted with blues, darker for the water and lighter for the sky. There was a giant dragon painted on the wall with the head of the dragon jutting out in 3-D just enough to form the base of a bookshelf, which had, of course old books with Norse bedtime stories. The carpet was the sea complete with waves and fish. Hunter was going to be beside himself! I know I was.

I quickly put away Hunter clothes into the little dresser which had handles made out of intricately knotted wrought iron, like old Viking jewelry. I smiled to myself at how much effort Eric was putting into making Hunter feel comfortable and welcomed into Eric's ho—no that's not right, into OUR home. That's better. I mentally patted myself on the back for that correction.

I was on my way to putting my own things away for the evening when I met up with Eric and Hunter in the hall. "That was a quick snack!" I said to Hunter.

"I was hungry and Uncle Eric has the best milk and animal crackers—EVER! He said he had a surprise for me and it was in my bedroom! He said he'd read me a book and tuck me in!" Hunter exclaimed in a way that only a pre-schooler can do.

"Well then let's go check it out!" I said with equal enthusiasm as he pulled me behind him. I caught a hold of Eric's hand and we went in the little bedroom like a train. There was a minor pile up at the door when Hunter stopped dead in his tracks to look at the bed. All the sudden he shouted, "Woo Hoo!" and ran and jumped on the bed. I looked back at good ol' Uncle Eric who had a grin running several times around his face and whispered to him, "You are spoiling him!"

He whispered back, "He's a good boy and children should be spoiled every now and then. Don't worry, I spoiled you too! Just wait your turn and I'll show you how." He breezed past me into the room where Hunter had already climbed into his PJs and was waiting for him to tell a story. "Just a quick one tonight, little one, since it is late and your aunt and I have some business to attend to," Eric told Hunter.

I leaned against the door frame for a little bit while Eric began his tail about going across a big sea to search for a new home to live in and new land to farm. It was an interesting tale and I wouldn't have minded listening to the whole thing, but Mother Nature called and I had to answer her. On my way out of the bathroom, my cell phone rang. It was Dr. Ludwig asking where I was. I found that a little odd, but I told her anyway and dismissed it as her never having been to Eric's apartment before. She said she would be here in a few minutes and wondered if she could speak to me alone without Eric present. I said I couldn't guarantee that and didn't really want to. I told her that Eric and I were now married in the human world as well as the vampire world. I thought she would be pleased, but she mumbled something unintelligible and hung up. I thought about telling Eric, but then I decided not to and chalked it up to a bad day for Dr. Ludwig. Even supernatural beings had to have bad days every now and then, right?

Eric came out of Hunter's bedroom a little while later saying that he'd fallen asleep just before he'd made landfall in his story. Eric seemed a little disappointed at this—I think he wanted to finish his tale. I patted his arm and told him it was okay, that maybe next time Hunter would stay awake longer! He rolled his eyes at me and said, "Do you want to see your surprise now, or later?"

"We have a few minutes before Dr. Ludwig will be here. She called to ask where you live-"

"She what?" he asked, alarmed.

"She called to ask where you live?" I responded in question form, meaning that I didn't understand what the big deal was.

"That's not Dr. Ludwig. She doesn't have to ask. It is part of who she is that she can find her patients anywhere. What did you tell her?"

"I told her where you live and that you and I had just gotten married. I hate to say it, but she sounded a little standoffish about it. What are you thinking?" I asked, afraid again.

Eric had his cell phone out and pressed a number that he had on speed dial, "Brigant, this is Northman. As soon as you get this message, you need to call me. We've got a problem."

"You called my great grandfather by his last name? I've never heard you do that before. What does he have to do with all this?"

"He's let Preston escape again and this time Preston is pretending to be Dr. Ludwig. I would assume that she's dead at this point. That's the only way for him to morph into another being, is by killing them."

I thought of Preston and as soon as I did, my babies held still and exuded fear. "Can you feel that Eric? They are afraid. I'm afraid too."

From across the room where he'd been pacing and thinking, he immediately flew to whisper to my belly. The babies instantly calmed down and began twitching and moving again. I on the other hand was still mortified as I began to put two and two together. "Was he trying to kill me—to become me—so he could be with you Eric? Is that why he took me and had Thing One and Thing Two torture me, just so he could be the one to end me and take my place to be with you?"

"I hadn't thought about that, but you said that he was there. It wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility, but he might have just wanted to kill you to get back at me for spurning his advances a long time ago."

"Advances?" I asked and Eric proceeded to tell me about the time that he first met Preston when he was pretending to be a gnome. "…really? I fishing pole?" He nodded. "Eew." He grinned. "So why did Preston wait so long to come back to try to 'win' you over again?"

"Because of you I think. You see, I think he's been spying on me for centuries now. I haven't done much of anything interesting with anyone. I've only bought and sold properties, made money, etc. There wasn't anything in my life that had changed. He might have been happy just to enjoy his perverse voyeurism of me, but then you entered the picture."

"What did I have to do with anything?" I asked curiously.

"He must have been able to tell that I was in love with you. He might have been within earshot when Niall was asking me about my intentions toward you. I think he became jealous of you since you had captured my heart. He's been trying to come between us ever since. I think that now he's met you and more," he said with a little clip in his voice, his eyes dropping to my belly, "he's fallen for you too. In his mind, a threesome between us would put him in seventh heaven."

"What has Niall done about this?" I asked him.

"He rescued me from him, when Preston tried to magnify his Faery essence to make me succumb to him, while he was still pretending to be a gnome, and I think that he's tried to keep him contained in the Faery realm, but sometimes Preston is too clever, even for Niall. I don't know what the relationship is between the two of them, but Niall rescued Preston from me at your house when he was pretending to be Lattesta, so he must not want him dead—even after he caused a war and he had you, Niall's beloved great granddaughter, tortured. I would love to know the connection."

Just then the phone rang. I could tell that it was Niall by the look on Eric's face. "Northman," said Eric. "I understand, your highness," said Eric. I bet he'd been told off about the Brigant comment. "He's on his way here right now, this time he is pretending to be Dr. Ludwig…I know and I am sorry too, she was a nice lady and a good doctor to all of us…I'll see you in a few minutes…yes she's here too, and so is Hunter…well then I will explain when you get here…good bye."

A few minutes after the phone call ended, Niall poofed into the living room of Eric's apartment. "Great grandfather!" I said as I rushed toward him. I threw my arms around him and gave him a big hug. The babies went wild with excitement as they remembered him being my rescuer. He placed his ancient hand on my stomach and with a tear in his eye told me how much he wished he could leave one portal open just to see me.

"Can you do that? Would you?" I asked hopefully. I was truly going to missed him when he sealed himself away forever.

"I wish I could, my angelic great granddaughter, but I must set an example, so you see, it just wouldn't work out. Thank you for wanting so badly to remain connected with me."

"I love you and I'll miss you!" I said, my own tears now flowing.

"Stop that now child, hush! We have work to do and you must look like you've been upset," said my great grandfather to me, then turning to Eric, he said, "Now Sheriff, what is this I hear about another great grandchild?"

"Hunter, your highness, please follow me. He is sleeping, but he is truly an asset to your bloodline," Eric told Niall. I was bursting with pride at that statement. Eric winked back at me.

Niall went into the bedroom with Eric. Eric kneeled by the edge of the bed and turn the lamp on while Niall hovered just behind. As the light hit Hunter's face, Niall gasped and put his hand to his chest. Eric stood up with great concern on his face. "Your highness, are you all right?"

"Yes, Eric, thank you. I am just fine." Niall responded.

"Are you okay?" I asked from the doorway. "What happened?"

"I looked on this child, my great great grandson, and I saw my eldest son Fintan at the same age. They look just alike! My son lives on in Hunter. I am eternally grateful for this revelation. To think I might never have known this. Thank you for sharing this information with me, but why did you not tell me sooner?"

"Do you remember when you asked if there was anything that you could do for me?" I asked him.

"Yes child, I remember you wanted me to locate a man named Remy Savoy. I found you the address, but I never inquired as to why you wanted to know."

"Now you know. I went to Remy's house to meet him and discovered that he had a child, Hunter. Hunter is Hadley's child. Hadley is my cousin who turned into a vampire and met her final death last year. She and Jason and I are your great grandchildren. I didn't know about Hunter until later last year, and only visited him once. He has a special gift, just like me."

"He's a telepath as well? How extraordinary!" exclaimed Niall. "Where is his father now?"

"His father is on his honeymoon with my best friend, Amelia-the witch. You remember her don't you?"

"Yes, I do. They just got married?"

"Yes, and we did too," I said, showing him my ring.

"I knew that would happen sooner or later, my dear Sookie. Eric asked my for your hand a long time ago, and I gave him my blessing. He advised, if he could get you to stand still long enough, you and he would wed on the day your friend got married. I secretly watched the ceremony. I was pleased. You were made for each other. I am glad you are happy and I am glad to know that your little cousin shares your special talent. You will both have a special place in each other's hearts and will be able to rely on each other. Tell me, do you still have that book I gave you?"

"Yes, I do. I haven't read it yet." I said as Eric looked quizzically at me.

"Read it soon. It will have some of the answers that you seek about-"

* * *

Knock. Knock. Knock. We left Hunter's room and went back to the living room. Niall remained in the hallway just out of sight and Eric took a seat on the sofa. We had to pretend that everything was normal, but my heart was racing, going a mile a minute. I hadn't ever had to put on such a show before. I was nervous. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Dr. Ludwig, how nice of you to come all this way. I am sorry I had to change the appointment location on a dime, but I had a whim to stay with my new husband for the evening." I said, throwing Eric in his face right away. "Won't you come in please?"

Dr. Ludwig entered the living room and saw Eric there. I could see a flicker in Dr. Ludwig's eyes, but so far he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. He hadn't played any tricks, so we proceeded.

"Can I offer you something to drink? Some sweet tea or some lemonade?" I say again, trying to draw him out.

"No thank you, my dear," said Dr. Ludwig, "let's proceed with your examination. How have you been feeling?"

"I've been feeling just fine, thank you." I responded. There was an awkward pause. I wasn't sure what was going to happen next.

"Please sit down and I can begin to examine you."

"Okay. Is it okay if Eric is in the room?" I asked.

Preston-Dr. Ludwig flashed a look over at Eric and said, "Of course. I don't mind."

"Well, then let's examine me," I said sounding very positive about the whole thing.

As Dr. Ludwig approached me, the babies became very scared and I could almost feel them shivering in fear. "You know the funniest thing happens, Dr. Ludwig, when the babies are near to someone that they don't like, they get really still and really afraid. And right now, they are really still and really afraid. Why do you suppose that is, Dr. Ludwig?" By the time I had finished my little interrogative; Eric had stood up and gone smoothly toward the door, while Niall moved silently out of the hallway and into the living room.

"Preston," said Niall. "It's time to go now. Please change back and leave quietly, or I will sedate you."

Preston's head lowered down and he changed back into himself. He allowed Niall to escort him out of the living room and out of our lives, hopefully forever. I had mixed feelings about the exodus because it meant that I would never see my great grandfather again.

* * *

"I guess I'll need to get a new doctor," I said to Eric as rested his head on my stomach, whispering to the babies. "Maybe I will just get a regular human obstetrician. How does that sound to you?"

"The best this town has to offer," he said. "Lover, are you are all right? You've had an unexpected evening. I'm glad you got to see Niall one last time."

"Me too. I just wish it was under different circumstances, and I wish I would never have to hear the name Preston again!"

"I agree. I told Niall, very briefly, that if Preston shows up again, I will kill him on the spot and I will expect there to be no consequences for my actions," he explained to me.

"What did he say?" I asked, not believing that Niall would agree to something like this.

"He know that now, with Dr. Ludwig gone, it will be all the harder to watch Prest-" Eric began, but I glared, "well, Thing Three—is that what I should call him?" I nodded. "Anyway, Niall said that watching Thing Three was too difficult now and almost impossible without the doctor. He accepted the consequences of letting Thing Three loose again and he won't interfere. I personally think he's sick and tire of him. You'll have to look in that book for the 'answers you seek.' What book would that be?"

"It's a book that Niall gave me about Faeries and so forth. It is at the house in Bon Temps. I'll read it later, or bring it back here with me."

"What did you say?" asked Eric.

"I'll bring it back here later to read, why?"

"No before that…" he said, grinning.

"Well, you are the one with the vampiric memory, can't you remember what I said to seconds ago? I can't!"

"Well, lover, let me refresh your memory, you said, 'It is at the house in Bon Temps,'" he said in a most jubilant way.

"So?" I said. I was missing the point again for the second time this evening.

"So, my darling wife, you just relinquished sole ownership of your ancestral home. You referred to it as THE house and not YOUR house. That's progress for you!" he said mirthfully, giving me a little kiss on the forehead.

I grinned back at him. I should have been angry, but I guess he was right, I was making forward progress and letting go of my Sookie Stackhouse persona and embracing my Sookie Northman persona. I suppose every bride feels this way after changing her name. I was glad men didn't have to go through this—they'd never survive! "I guess it is 'progress' as you put it," I said and smiled at him.

"Can I show you your surprise?" he asked eagerly going with my good humor.

"Sure."

"Okay, then close your eyes and I will take you there."

"Eyes are closed, where is 'there?'" I asked as Eric scooped me up from the sofa and carried me down the hall. I pretty much figured it must be the bedroom. I'd seen it once before, when I had stayed here. I was a normal looking guy-decorated room. Nothing out of the ordinary. I imagined that he had also changed it to suit his idea of what I might like in a bedroom.

"Open your eyes," he said looking in my face as I opened them. I saw no change. The room looked manly and vampiric as it had before.

"I don't understand."

"You don't see anything different?"

"No."

"Come and look in the mirror, then maybe you'll see it."

I looked and I saw that Eric had slipped a beautiful locket around my neck. It was gold and when I opened it, it opened out with four little frames. I was thrilled. I love being surprised. "And I thought you had redone your room for me, just like you had redone the one for Hunter."

"I can if you like, but I actually like the room the way it is now. You would like me to change it?"

"No! I love it too. You don't have to change things for me. I like that you don't change everything for me. It makes me feel awkward when you bend over backwards to think of everything I like."

"So you like the locket?"

"I love it, but can I ask you a question?"

"Yes lover, always."

"Who should I put in the frames? The babies, of course, and did you get an extra for Hunter?"

"It actually just came that way, but yes you can use them for anyone, even me if you like."

"Thanks but I prefer you in the larger calendar form. You are WAY too big for a little locket!"

"BIG? Hmmm…"

And with that he began to show me just how big he was. It took him all night!

* * *

**A/N: **Not a fan of this past chapter, but I have about 5 left to write, so I think the pace will pick up a little bit more. Thanks for staying with the writing so far. Please read and review!

11-8-09 A/N: I obviously haven't put much effort into finishing this story, but I will post more today.


	30. Chapter 27 Fast Forward

A/N: Sorry it took so long! I'll try to be more regular for those who've been watching and reading. Thanks so much for your support. Only about 5 more left, then we can all move on to better things!

* * *

Chapter 27 Fast Forward

St. Patrick's Day came on a Tuesday. If I was a little melancholy the day before, I was distraught on the 17th. Niall came one last time to bid good bye to me, Jason and even Hunter, who couldn't really tell what was going on. I knew it was the very last time I would see him and I knew that he had to keep his word to close the portals. Even knowing that he wasn't dead, or gone in that fashion, didn't help me fight back the wave of sadness that came to overtake me. I felt so alone again. In many ways I was. I sat alone on the bed I shared with Eric, and wept.

I wept for everyone I ever knew; Niall, my grandmother, Crystal, my folks…really important people to cry over, but I also wept for stupid things too like the new theme song from the last season of Charmed. (How stupid was that to shed a tear for?) But sometimes, once you open those flood gates, you just let loose.

I know I looked a right mess when Eric came back from his business trip to New Orleans to discuss vampire politics with Victor and King Felipe. He had offered to stay, but I told him to go, that I just needed some space to deal with the events that were unfolding. I had serious bed head and red puffy eyes, and I hadn't been out of bed for a week, so I smelled pretty foul too.

"Lover, you look awful!" he grinned sympathetically, trying to rouse some pithy comment from me in return.

Well, that was a really stupid thing for him to say! "Oh, shut up!" I retorted and rolled over on the bed and threw a blanket over my head. The next think I knew I was in the shower—the very frigid shower—with the blanket too! I guess I forgot Eric doesn't really like me telling him to shut up. I wanted to scream when the water hit me, but the sound just wouldn't come. I was so emotionally drained, so exhausted, so dead that the water actually felt like it was burning my skin and scalding it, rather than freezing it. It was a very surreal shower. I felt my body crumble at the knees and give way. I slumped forward and laid there, in the bed of the shower, in a more or less catatonic state until Eric came back in to get me—so much for his shock therapy plan.

I minded like hell that he'd put me in the shower to get me moving. I minded like hell that I wasn't upset about it. I minded like hell that I couldn't do anything about it. My body was refusing to move around and my mind was taking a vacation in Couldn't-Give-A-Rat's-Assville, so there I was. The normal Sookie was trapped screaming silently inside the very much depressed Sookie. Eric didn't know what to do. I couldn't help him either.

I could hear him placing a call to Pam, who apparently offered no good advice, but told him to call Amelia. He did. She told him that she'd be right there and she was.

* * *

Amelia POV

Eric called the day after St. Patrick's Day to ask me to come and take care of Sookie. He was beside himself with worry about Sookie.

"…I can't seem to make her snap out of it. She won't listen to me, Pam has no advice. This must be her human side that is making her feel this way. I'd make her drink my blood if I thought it would do any good, but I don't think it would help with a mental condition. Why is she acting like this?" he asked.

I had never heard Eric exhibit such lack of control in a situation. He always struck me as a real Cool Hand Luke, but this time, Sookie threw him for a loop. Except that I was sorry that Sookie was hurting, I thought it was doing Eric some good to be helpless for a little while. It was nice to see the mighty get humbled every now and then.

"I'll be over in about a half an hour. Just make her comfortable. She just _needs_ right now," I said, sounding more motherly than I probably had a right to sound yet. I guess hanging around Hunter has rubbed off on me.

"She _needs_ right now? What do you mean by that?" said a very confused Eric.

"What I mean is…oh never mind, it will take longer to explain to you than it takes to get there." I hung up the phone and grabbed Hunter. "Come on Hunter! We are going to nurse your Aunt Sookie back to good health again!"

"Oh goody! How do we do that?" he asked.

"We are going to cheer her up. She might need to cry a bit first, but we need to get her back on track again and we need to show her that we are here for her. Do you know what's wrong with her?"

"No."

"She's melancholy," I said. It was a big word, but I wanted to teach him big words and expand his vocabulary. He was a smart little boy.

"Aunt Sookie can turn into a watermelon and a dog, just like Uncle Sam?" he asked in awe.

"No sweetheart, she is melancholy. It means she's sad about things. She got so sad about something, and I think it was you great great grandfather Niall going away back to his home that started her off, but now she's sad about everything. Our job is to make sure that we make her happy again and get her back on the right track. I think that you can help better than anyone, do you know why?"

"No why?" he said, looking please about being the big helper man.

"Because you are the bestest little kid in the whole wide world and your Aunt Sookie needs one of your great big bear hugs. Can you practice grr-ing?"

"GRRRRR." he growled.

"That's my boy!" I said and I really meant it. Hunter was truly my boy.

Hunter and I rang the doorbell and Eric opened the door and ushered us in quickly. "Thank you for coming Amelia." It had been a long time now since he addressed me as witch. "I see you brought Hunter too. That is probably a good idea."

"Where is she?" I asked.

Eric looked as guilty as a vampire can look and answered, "In the shower. I said something offhand to her, thinking it would rouse my Sookie's anger and she told me to shut up." I had to withhold a smile. "Then I overreacted and put her in the shower, blankets and all, and turned the water on cold and left the room. I thought that might fire her up, but when I came back in, she'd crumpled into a fetal position and was just staring. I thought she was dead for a brief second. I turned the water off and called Pam and then you. Thank you for coming."

I was enraged, but controlled. "Hunter, please go down the hall to your little room and read a book or play with some toys, I will call you when I need you," I said to my son, then I turned to Eric and said vehemently, "So you _left_ her in the shower?"

"She wouldn't get out," he said defensively. "She just kept whispering, 'leave me alone; leave me alone' over and over again, and she wouldn't even look at me."

"Eric, I know you aren't going to like this, but you are an imbecile sometimes!" He looked annoyed and his fangs popped out at me. He was going to say something, or worse yet, do something, but I stopped him by saying, "I know you are a great lover of women, and I am from what Sookie's told me, you can wow them in bed, but honey, you are just as stupid as a human man when it comes to women's emotions and feelings, and I think you know this already, or you wouldn't have called me, now would you have?"

"ALL RIGHT!" he roared. "Point taken witch! Would you please just go in and help your friend?"

Exasperated with Eric's typical maleness, I went in to find Sookie, still wrapped in a wet blanket lying in a catatonic state on the floor of the shower. "Honey," I said and crawled in with her and wrapped my arms around her. "It will be all right. Just let go." And she did. She sobbed and sobbed.

"He's gone. He's gone. He's gone." She repeated as I rocked her back and forth. "My daddy is gone." _Her daddy? Not Niall?_ I thought to myself.

Suddenly she snapped out of it a little and said, "No Amelia. My daddy, not Niall! I never said good bye. I never said good bye to my momma either. I went to the funeral, but I never said good bye the day they left, the day they were killed. I never said anything. I never…" and she sobbed again for a good fifteen minutes before finishing her sentence, "I never said I loved them."

"Oh you poor thing! You sat on that for all this time?"

"Mmmhmmm, I did," she said sheepishly, looking up and making eye contact with me for the first time.

"Can I ask you something Sookie?" I said.

"Sure."

"Can we get out of the shower now? It's kind of wet and you are still soggy. I think we need a change of clothes. Do you want me to get Eric in here to…"

"ERIC! Oh my god, Eric. My poor Eric!" she shouted in horror, and in a flash he was by her side.

"My dear one, what is it, how can I help you?" he said trying desperately to be needed.

"Honey, get me out of this shower and over to the bed and forgive me!" she said in one breath. She looked up at him as she said it and when their eyes met they both sparkled with that glow that only true lovers can achieve.

"There's nothing to forgive. Are you all right? I love you, you know, right?" and he kissed her gently, but passionately, on the lips.

I rolled my eyes, "Ah-hem," I said loudly, "would you two like me to leave?" And with that, they stopped kissing and Eric grabbed both of us and carried us to the bed and plopped us down.

"Ladies, I will leave you to get changed. Amelia, I think some of Sookie's older clothing will fit you just fine until your dries out." And with that he left us to change all by ourselves.

"You know what we need?" I asked, firmly.

"What?" said Sookie, sounding more and more like her old self, "We need to go on a road trip, to Las Vegas before you get too big to travel. It could be just us girls. Maybe Pam could go too, for protection and for the fun factor? What do you say?"

"It sounds…kind of fun? I think I'd like to go, if the new doctor says it is all right."

"New doctor?" I asked, so she told me all about Niall and Preston, whom she called Thing Three.

* * *

Sookie POV

The day of the all-girl trip to Vegas dawned. I had managed to convince my new and very human-only doctor that I could take it easy. He was worried that I had waited so long to seek medical treatment. Of course, I couldn't tell him that I had a goblin doctor that the father of the babies was half shifter, half Faery and all crazy, and that early on in my pregnancy I had been tortured to within an inch of my life. I lied a bit and told him I hadn't felt poorly yet, so I hadn't seen anyone. He gave me leave to travel since my blood pressure was okay and he'd scheduled me for an ultrasound when I got back. He listened for heart beats and said he had heard three distinctive hearts beating rapidly. I just had to be really careful of the fact that I had three little lives in me, keep off my feet, and stay away from cigarette smoke as much as possible.

I was glad that he let me know it was safe to go. I was really looking forward to the trip. It was too bad that I had to force myself to feel that way on some days, but I was making my own personal progress, my own personal way to get back to normal, if that was even possible. I looked over at the bed where my lovely new husband slept. We'd said our good-byes last night, almost all night. He told me he loved me very much and to please call him regularly to let him know I was safe and sound. I promised I would.

To save time, I met Amelia at the airport. We were taking a late flight and Pam had gone on the night before to be able to meet us in Vegas when our plane landed. Eric, last night, had plied me with more money than I used to make in a year, just for the adventure. He said not to bring back a dime unless we won big! I feigned at being appalled at the extravagance. He rolled his eyes at me. We played our roles very well.

"How much?" inquired Amelia when I told her.

"Sixty grand, so that's twenty for each of us!" I said excitedly.

"No, I brought my own, and Pam brought her own, too. Honey," she said with a big cheesy grin, "Eric gave YOU SIXTY THOUSAND DOLLARS to spend! I don't know how you'll do it, but I am going to love watching you try."

I humphed in her general direction. I thought about calling Eric and arguing with him about spending such a large amount of money. I thought giving away most of it to some unsuspecting church in the greater Las Vegas area, and then I decided to TRY to spend it, just to see if I actually could. We were only there for a weekend. When I came home with most of it, after trying hard to spend it, I could tell Eric off and let him know I didn't need so much money, no matter how much he had in OUR coffers.

We met Pam at the airport. She was stunning as usual. She was dressed in red patent leather pants, a red velvet and lace boostier under a see through button down dress shirt with frills. Amelia was dressed rather nicely too, and I felt like a slouch in my maternity wear. Pam noticed my mood.

"Sookie? Are you feeling okay?" she said. "Eric said I had to take extra good care of you, since he isn't allowed to be out here."

I put on a brave front and slapped on my false grin, "I'm fine thanks. I'm calling him several times a night while we're gone so he won't become such a worry wart."

"Worry wart?" she repeated and then laughed and laughed.

We headed to the Bellagio—penthouse suite, naturally, for Amelia and I, and the equivalent vampire suite for Pam. I spent the limousine ride trying to fathom every possible way I could think of to spend this money. Gambling first.

"Let's hit the hotel casino first," I said, eager to spend.

"Not so fast, I have to check in with the King first to let him know that I am here and with you. Protocol before gambling." She took just a moment to do that and after she flipped the phone shut said, "He wants to meet with us tomorrow night, for drinks at eight o'clock. Is that all right with you two?"

"Sure," we said together.

"Good, because we'd have to even if you didn't want to."

"Protocol before gambling?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"Protocol before gambling," confirmed Pam and we laughed.

We went down to the floor and I walked up to the roulette wheel. I've always heard that is the game with the worst odds. I plunked down my chips on a couple different colors and numbers and hoped for the best, well, really the worst. I wanted to lose the money in the worst way the fastest way possible. I felt compelled. That compelling feeling was making me happy. Damn Eric! He always made me feel better even three states away!

"I'm sorry little lady," said the pit boss who was standing behind me. "Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose."

Of course that remark made me want to win for a little while. I grinned and walked away.

I ran into Amelia on my way to the blackjack table. "Are you having fun yet?" she asked me.

"Yes lots, actually. I am down by twenty thousand. Only forty more to go! It's a vendetta now!"

She smiled at me as I walked away. I hadn't seen Pam, but I think she was watching me from a distance. I could feel her empty mind moving and looming a set distance away from me as I made my way round the casino. I threw some money in to a random slot machine on my way by and just my luck, hit the jackpot. Damn! Well, only a thousand, but still.

I decided to forgo the blackjack, odds were too good anyway, and decided to go back to the roulette wheel to press my luck a little more. I turned on a dime and ran into none other than John Quinn, my old boyfriend, the famous weretiger.

"Sookie?" he said completely dumbfounded. "Is it really you? Is Eric here with you?"

I smiled. I was glad to see him even after the incident last time. I hugged him and said, "Yes, Quinn it's me. My husband isn't with me on this trip."

"Yes, I heard you married him. Listen, can we go somewhere and talk for a few minutes?"

"Yes, but I want to tell you that Pam is here with me and so is Amelia. I'll gladly talk with you, but I need to know that you'll keep calm."

He smiled at me with those violet eyes of his and I remembered the old Quinn that I had fallen for all those long months ago. "We can go to my office. I'm the head of security now."

"Fine," I said, but man oh man did I have a bad feeling about that.

We moved out of the casino area and through some secured employee-only doors and down a long corridor to Quinn's office. He opened the door for me and walked through. It was a nice office as offices go. We hadn't sat down for more than a second before he jumped and apologized for his past behavior. "I was all juiced up on adrenaline and so anxious to talk to you about a matter which doesn't exist anymore."

"What was it you wanted to say?" I remembered that night vividly. I was the night that Eric and I got back together again—the night I inadvertently married him, but I've always been curious what Quinn might have wanted to say that could have been that important to run the risk of Eric's mighty wrath.

"Believe it or not, I was still in love with you. Don't worry; I am fond of you still, but past all that. I was compelled by an acquaintance of mine to do everything in my power make sure that you didn't end up with Eric."

"Why?"

"He said that he had it on good authority that Eric wanted to get close to you again and persuade you to be turned so that he would always have control over your telepathic ability.

"Quinn," I said with a sigh, "you know that Eric will always abide by my wishes on the subject. He would never turn me, not even if I was dying. I made him promise not to."

Quinn smiled gently back at me and patted my hand in a patronizing way. "I can only hope that's the truth my dear…" He left his statement open ended and I sensed urgency in getting up to move back down the hall to Pam and Amelia and safety.

I smiled as I got up and said nonchalantly, "Well, this has been fun, but I really need to get back to spending some money to support your career. Can you please take me back?" By now my babies were urging me to get the hell out of Dodge!

I an instant, Quinn mutated into Preston. "I think not."

* * *

A/N: Oh yes, a cliff hanger...


	31. Chapter 28 Capture

**Sorry to all story followers, I've been away from this for some time reading books that other people wrote. I've been reminded by a couple people that they want a proper ending, so here goes...only a few more chapters left to go!**

****As always, just a reminder that the characters are borrowed in full from the library of Charlaine Harris. Thanks for the loaners and I promise to return before I get a fine!****

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**Chapter 28 Capture**

**Sookie POV**

"Preston," I said and sat down in the chair. "How did you escape? When did you escape? What are you doing here? And most importantly, why can't you LEAVE ME ALONE!?"

Preston, by now morphed back into real Faery-shifter form—his face scarred from our last encounter, puffed a big breath of air out of his mouth. He bulged his eyes out a little as he did this, simultaneously placing his palm over his forehead and running it through his hair. He slumped into his seat, defeated-like. "I'm addicted."

"Clearly. Explain." I said stone-faced.

"I love Eric. I alwayth have," he said by way of confession, "but now I love you too! I have to have you. I have to have the babieth, my little babieth. I uthed you to get to Eric—at firtht. I admit that, but I never thought that I'd be a father. I want you both and I am going to have you both and the babieth-my children." I had forgotten about his new lithping problem that Eric had created, and he thtill loved Eric? Hmmm…

My children were in my belly in complete panic mode, so I sent them waves of calm and reassurance. I was going to handle this. I would remain calm. No sense losing my head over this, right? "What are you planning?" I asked both in sincerity and disbelief that he'd thought anything through.

He jumped up in his seat and spoke hastily as if he'd been waiting for me to ask just that question. "Well, of courthe, we are going to live in Faery. All of uth. You'll like it. Eric will like it. You'll be able to thee Niall again." He was smiling at me in the hopefulness that he thought I'd buy into his dementia. I granted him the wish.

"Yes I'd like to see Niall again; however," I said trumping his ace, "the gates of Faery are all closed and sealed off forever, or I'd take you up on the offer."

"You would?" he asked,

I okay I hooked the fish, now to reel him in. "Yes. It's clear that you won't leave us alone, so I say if you can't beat 'em join 'em, and seeing Niall again would be nice too, but, again, the gate are all closed, so…"

"No there not!" He said with a smile. "I have a thecret entranthe that no one knowth about. It hathn't been uthed in millennia, and I don't think that Niall even knowth about it!"

"Well then," I said with as simpering a southern belle smile as I could muster under the circumstances, "Let's just call Eric and let him know that's what we're planning to do, okay?"

"That thoundth like a plan," said Preston, but his eyes changed their point of view as they narrowed in suspicion. His head tipped slightly with an angle of questioning. "Thookie, darling," I cringed internally at the word darling, but hoped it didn't show, "you'll call Eric and tell him to come here. Make it good, or I will have to kill you." _Well, _I thought to myself, _it doesn't get any more blunt than that._

I smiled and took the cell phone out of my pocket. In a split second, I had a moment of genius. I pressed the speed dial number and called.

* * *

**Pam POV**

BUZZ. BUZZ. I reached into my pocket and saw that Sookie was calling. "Are you lost?" I asked without preamble. I didn't think she was lost, but I hadn't clapped eyes on her for a half hour or so. I didn't think she'd get into any trouble at her slot machines, but I should have figured.

"Hello, lover," Sookie responded, in an overly dramatic voice.

After a split second of getting turned on by the lilt in her voice, I realized that something was up and responded, "Where are you?"

"Oh having a great time with Pam. I've spent a ton of money, but I have more to spend. I just ran into an old friend of ours, you remember John Quinn?"

"I'll call Eric and I'll be there in a minute, unless you need me to keep talking, do you?" I asked.

"Yes, well, he was wondering if you'd like to come out here," she said stressing the next part, "on the hotel. Yes, he works for the hotel."

"Good girl," I told her, "I'm on my way…I can imagine who this is that has you and I will tear him limb from limb when I get there. Tell him that Eric will be there in the evening and then see if he can take you to a public place for dinner, tell him that you are hungry and need food for the babies, can you do that?"

"Yes, that sounds fine, so I'll see you in a few hours? Where should I meet you?" asked Sookie, trying to get her point across to me.

"Tell him you'll meet Eric in the hotel room in a few hours. I'll arrange for everything else."

"I can't wait to see you!" she said with desperation in her voice.

I hung up and dialed Eric.

"Northman," he answered.

I took a deep breath, even though air is not a necessity for our kind—rather just a force of human habit that is harder to break that you'd think. "We've got a situation…"

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It's really pitifully short, but I'm just getting back into the swing of things...thanks for reading!


	32. Chapter 29 Captivity

**A shorty but a goody...more to come, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Everyone belongs to Charlaine Harris**...

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**Chapter 29 Captivity**

**Eric POV**

I closed my cell phone with a snap and appeared behind Pam almost instantly. I was going to surprise Sookie and Pam this evening. I wanted to make sure that Sookie was doing all right, and I missed her too.

I trusted my child with my wife, and was sorely disappointed that she had let Sookie slip away from her so easily. I wasn't going to harm Pam, she was a loyal soul, still I couldn't let her get away Scot free. Lessons must be learned. I grabbed her pony tail and slammed her into the wall.

"Kill me—I've failed you, master." She said head bowed and without remorse.

"A simple, 'I'm sorry' will do. We'll talk about this later. Where is she?"

"She's in the employee corridor, in the werecat's office. I was on my way there."

"Let's move." Enough of this talking back and forth. I could feel Sookie's desperation and fear and I thought I could feel the babies' fear as well. All those little spirits trying to calm their mother down! My heart just about burst with love and…I shook my head to concentrate. I had to focus was letting emotion carry me away from my duty at hand—save Sookie.

Pam and I reached the office and found Sookie alone, looking scared. She jumped up and hugged me and I reciprocated with fervor. "You're safe. Where's Quinn," I said, not making a question out of it.

"Down the hall and in that direction," she said pointing. Pam took off shouting about not needing any help, muttering that she'd rip his furry head off and drain his foul werebody before it hit the ground. I didn't doubt that for a second and let her run off to have her fun. If she got hurt a little bit, well that would be punishment enough. As long as Sookie was all right, I was as happy as a clam.

"Are you happy to see me?" she asked. That was an odd question for someone who had just been almost kidnapped for about the tenth time. Maybe it had become blasé to her, this whole sense of getting taken and then rescued by me. I thought she should be a little more scared. In fact, she didn't feel scared—in fact, I couldn't feel anything from her. I know she could suppress her half of our bond, but she…

My response was cautiously given, "I'm always happy to see you Sookie. Are you okay? You are acting like you don't care about what just almost happened to you. Are you in shock, do you need to lie down?"

"I'm fine, lover. Let's go upstairs and I can show you just how fine I am," she said.

I smiled and arched one brow upward and told her to lead the way. She took me upstairs to the room where she was staying, but when she opened the door, one whiff of the interior air gusted out and told me that Sookie Stackhouse had never been in that room at all. This was not Sookie, but I decided to play possum to see what I could find out.

Sookie, or whomever this was (and I had my suspicions), shut the door behind her and came up to me planting a big kiss on me. I responded back taking my time. I placed my arms around her waist and pulled her close, all the while keeping my lips locked and my tongue dancing the tango with hers. "Mmmh…Sookie," I moaned for good measure. I allowed my hands to drift to her breasts, caressing and teasing her nipples until they stood to attention. "Lover," I crooned.

"Yes, Eric?" she responded breathlessly.

"Lover, I am going to have you like the first time we made love on the couch. Do you remember?" I queried teasing out a false confession from the would-be Sookie. "But I need a little help."

"Oh I'll help!" she said, in way that my Sookie clearly would not have. "Tell me what you want me to do."

"Oh now lover, that's what I need help with. I can't remember just what I did. Can you tell me what to do?"

I sensed a little panic when she led me to the couch and pulled me down with her. "Well first you kissed me, like…like this," she said pulling me down on top of her. "And then you undressed me," she said moving my hands to her zipper in the back of her dress. "And then you…"

"Yes?" I said expectantly.

"Took me," she said.

"Hmmm," I said lightly, smiling, chuckling a little and pulling away slightly, "I have an entirely different memory of our first time." And with this statement, I began to choke the living daylights out of Sookie Stackhouse.

**Pam POV**

I ran down the hall in the direction that Sookie pointed. I could smell the essence of were, but something was amiss. The odor got nastier than even the worst wet-dog smell you could imagine. It wasn't fresh were. It was dead were. I opened the door where it was the strongest and caught a glimpse of the slumped body of John Quinn before the blast hit my face.

I staggered over to the nearest wall and fell against it hard and everything went black.

**Sookie POV**

I had hung my phone up from my conversation with "Eric" (Pam), and the lights went out. In my haze, I should have known not to trust him. I woke up to find that I was in a closet with a lot of boxes, a dressmakers dummy, several old paintings in ornate frames, and a really bad stench.

I moved my hands all around to search for a light switch or a pull chain. I stood up and found one hanging from the ceiling. I pulled the chain and illuminated the room. I threw up almost immediately after gazing upon the body of poor Dr. Ludwig. Shortly after coming to, I screamed.

**Preston POV**

Gurgle. "Thtop." Gurgle. "Neve-theer-gain." I couldn't breathe. I was going to die at the hands of the man I'd always loved. How could he do this to me? "Neve-find-her-thout-me." The hands loosened their grip a little and I could breathe.

"Where." Demanding little son of a bitch when he wants to be. I felt myself go a little hard at the thought of his commanding presence. I'd played him brilliantly, like a master violinist plays a Stradivarius.

"Come with me," I said, having changed back to my own self. "I'll take you to her."

Eric glared at me. "One false move and you are dead. Is that understood?"

I smiled back at him…elated that in only a matter of minutes I'd have him, have them both, on the right side of the Faery borders and I could seal off the last entrance and they would be mine forever. "No trickth."

I said the words and opened the last remaining gate to Faery for the final time. Shit. To my surprise, I saw a very angry Sookie and an even angrier Niall looking back at me. I acted fast and closed the gate…


	33. Chapter 30 Rescue

**Chapter 30 Rescue**

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* * *

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**Sookie POV**

"Boo," said Niall with a malicious tone in his voice. Then the hole closed. "Little pisser," were the next words, followed by, "I'll kill him."

I regarded Niall for a moment while he collected himself. I never thought I'd see him again, but the moment I screamed, he appeared…

*****A/N -- I haven't tried a flashback sequence yet, so I thought I would before I run out of story, and now back to the action:*****

"Sookie, my child, what are you doing here?" he asked in surprise about two seconds after my screaming about Dr. Ludwig's body. This caused me to scream again.

"I've been taken again by Preston. Go figure," I said in a clipped tone. "You know Niall, I was devastated when you left…thought I'd never see you again, and also thought I'd be safe once more. I thought that Eric would take care of me, now that things are working out for him politically, and that my life would be getting back onto a more even keel. Not that I'm not glad to see you, but how am I here? How are you here? What's going on and why is Preston out and about? Isn't he supposed to be locked up in some insane asylum or something? Wh--"

"ENOUGH!" scolded Niall. He'd been trying to answer the first of my questions and I'd systematically cut him off every time he opened his mouth. Then he pulled me toward him and hugged me fiercely. "My darling granddaughter. I never thought I'd see you again, either. I've been frantic these past few weeks when I discovered that Preston had escaped. I had all the gates sealed up, but I forgot about this one. I didn't realize it was still open—hasn't been used in years. I am surprised that Preston knew about it."

"I'm not," I said pulling away from his embrace and changing the subject. "Have you seen, or rather, have you smelled poor Dr. Ludwig?"

"Yes. I gather she's been dead for a couple weeks now," he said solemnly.

"What are you going to do with her?"

"I'll see to it that she is buried according to her custom. She didn't have any close family left. In the meantime…" he said, waving his hand to mask the smell.

"Hmph. Kind of like me I suppose."

"You have your brother, and Eric, and you'll have your little ones. You'll always have me, no matter where I am. Please understand this." He said with a lot of concern in his eyes. I knew he must really be upset by this latest development that is the saga of my life. I thought about his concern and felt a little better.

"So how do I get back home from here?" I asked, just simply tired of the whole affair more than worried about anything at this point.

Niall hugged my shoulders a little and gave me a knowing grandfatherly grin that I'd never seen cross his face before. "Oh, I imagine that Eric will show up in a few minutes. He's never very far away from you. You know he really loves you don't you?" I nodded in return. Niall cupped my chin with his ancient smooth hand. "And I know you really love him too, don't you?" Another head nod. "Good. If I thought differently for a second, I would end this blood bond between the two of you."

"I know. I can too," I winked.

"Can you? You have stronger Faery instincts than I thought you did. Hmm…I wonder…"

"Really? Wonder what?" I asked, slightly intrigued, despite my present predicament. No sooner than I had asked that, a hole opened up and on the other side were a slightly strangled looking Preston and a ballistic Eric.

"Boo," said Niall to Preston, with a malicious tone in his voice. Then the hole closed. "Little pisser," were the next words, followed by, "I'll kill him."

A moment passed while I regarded him, then I watched as Niall waived his hand again, this time opening the gate to find Eric in the throes of strangling Preston. Preston, for his part, was putting up a good fight, but was no match for Eric. Eric stopped his strangle hold on Preston long enough to start punch him mercilessly in the face. Blood was flying everywhere, but still Preston was alive, begging.

"Thtop Eric. Pleathe. I love you!" he cried, but Eric kept pounding away. Oh believe me; I've seen him take down thousand-year old vampires just by looking at him. This was a cat that was playing with his mouse before supper. It was unnecessary torture. In spite of myself, I felt a little pity for Preston. Poor demented Preston.

I don't know what came over to me, but I shouted at Eric, "STOP IT-JUST FINISH IT!"

Instantly, he threw Preston up against a wall and Preston's limp body slumped down to the floor. Eric looked from Preston to me very slowly with that frenzied look in his eyes. There was too much blood and adrenaline in the room…and something else…Faery scent. He was looking at me with bloodlust. Instinctively, I moved around behind Niall for protection.

In one move, Niall pulled me out from behind him and gently guided me to Eric, whispering very softly in my ear, "Remember what I said little one…the vampire still loves you…trust him. Go to him, it will be all right."

I looked over my shoulder at Niall briefly and then back to Eric. Trust. My eyes met his and the bloodlust disappeared. Eric rushed over to me and cried, "Lover, I thought I lost you!"

"You'll never lose me, Eric, not ever," and I meant it.


	34. Chapter 31 Great Explanations

**Chapter 31 Great Explanations**

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In the days and weeks that followed the death of Preston Pardloe, I continued to see Niall. Well, what did you expect; after all, he is the Prince of Faery, so he should be allowed to sneak between the two worlds every now and then, right? I never went to visit him there though, despite many invitations to do so. Eric deemed it too dangerous in case there was another Preston-type Faery lurking in the bushes waiting to grab me and/or the babies, who were very hot commodities in that realm. Eric had grown wary of anything that could harm me, including sex. He treated me like a China doll.

No my great-grandfather would just have to visit me here. Actually, I don't think he minded really, he liked getting away from the day-to-day operations of running the realm.

It seemed, though, that Niall had some 'splainin' to do and felt the need to come clean about his dealings with Preston. Preston apparently had discovered that he had a power to control Niall and influence what he was doing and thinking. "When he was near to me, I knew that he was controlling me, but when he went a good distance away, I could feel like myself again and wonder why I was doing some of the things I was doing, but was never able to put two and two together. I am thankful daily that he wasn't around when you were being tortured by 'Thing One and Thing Two' as you call them. If he had been there, the results might have been different."

"I'm very sorry that I allowed him to get so close to you," he continued, while brushing a loose strand of hair away from my face "Had I been in my right mind, I would _never_ have allowed him to prey on you in such a fashion," he said as his eyes wandered down toward my burgeoning belly. "Can you ever forgive me?"

I patted my large mound and sighed deeply and looked over at Eric who was sitting on the steps of the front porch while Niall and I were swaying gently on the porch swing. "It's not so bad, grandfather, I have come to terms with how I got pregnant, and I have a great husband," I said as I looked at Eric. If a vampire could blush, I think he would have, "and the children will have a wonderful father. I can't really blame you in all this. You were taken as much as we all were by 'Thing Three' as I like to call him."

Niall continued on in an absent sort of way, "You know, it was Dermot who discovered this ability that Preston had."

"Dermot?" Eric and I asked at the same time, both of us sitting up a little straighter.

"Yes, you see, Dermot had long planned to overthrow me and my regime. He was very subtle in the beginning, a comment here, an action there, but his little power plays were always put down and suppressed by the elders. It wasn't until a couple hundred years ago, perhaps a time frame of a couple months to you my dear," he said, patting my hand placatingly, "that Dermot's ideas came into fashion. I now realize why this was happening…it was because Dermot was using Preston to control and sway the minds of the opposition to work for him.

"My desire and longing to see you, and your brother too of course, was played upon by Preston, but ultimately by Dermot. When he learned that you had captured the heart of one of the strongest and most influential vampires of the day, Eric over here, he decided to torture you to death in order to get Eric to start a vampire-Faery war."

Eric interrupted at this revelation, "I wish he was alive again, so I could take my time to kill him."

"No you don't!" I snapped.

"Yes, Sookie my love, I do. You don't ever seem to realize that I almost lost you about ten different times and it was all because of him. I almost lost Pam too. I wouldn't put it past him to have had a hand in the demise of the Queen as well," he added sullenly.

He'd been so moody lately, and that statement really got my dander up. "We've been over this Eric! I'm fine now. You've got to put this past you. There is nothing that is going to get you or me. There's no evil out there anymore. We've dealt with everything that can come between two people and survived. Stop being so morose or I'll end this!"

We were up in the air in seconds. I vaguey heard Niall in the background chuckle softly to himself and saw him disappear into his own world again, muttering something about "youth and love being wasted on the young." I didn't pay much attention as I was angry at Eric for being so overprotective around me. He was smothering me with this oppressive worry.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'LL END THIS?" he shouted at me with terror in his eyes.

"LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!" I shouted back at him. Then a little more calmly, "what do you mean 'what do I mean?'" Which was less than perfect English, but it seemed to fit the mood of the moment.

Eric rolled his eyes and started floating down to the ground again, which I was grateful for as it was really disconcerting to be floating around defying gravity. He collected himself a little, saying, "The question I was trying to convey was, do you mean that you want our relationship to end? Are you tired of me? Or do you mean…what did you mean by that? Please tell me? Do you care for me still Sookie?"

"OH!" I seethed, angrier than ever now. "STUPID VAMPIRE!" And I went in and slammed the door. "INVITATION RESCINDED," I scathed at him.

He roared outside and I looked at the closed door with a slight bit of satisfaction. After all, I still had the power to keep him outside if I wanted to!

Or so I thought. The door flew open and in walked Eric with an even more satisfied look on his face. "We're married and this is my house too, REMEMBER? You can't do that to me anymore. You can't shut me out like that anymore, REMEMBER?" And with that he reached back behind himself and without looking kicked the door shut with a slam. He strode toward me breathing heavily.

"I-I-forgot about that," I said warily.

"And I don't like doors slammed in my face."

"Sorry about that, too," and I looked down at my feet, or would have if my bulge weren't getting in the way a little.

"I don't like my wife saying she's going to end it either," he said cupping my chin with his hand. "What did you mean?"

"I-I-don't know," I answered honestly looking into his eyes, as he bent to kiss me.

He kissed me for a long time. It had been a while since he'd done that, really since he'd done anything. He broke off and looked into my eyes, very deeply. "You are not going to ever say you'll end things between us," he said as his eyes penetrated mine. "You are going to love me forever. You are going to be mine forever." I blinked and grinned at him.

"Nope, still not going to work…you can't glamour me!" I said trying to lighten his mood.

His reaction to that statement was not what I was anticipating. He grabbed my arms and pulled me to him kissing me fiercely. His lips were crushing mine brutally drawing blood. His fangs were out in full force as he grabbed my hair and pulled my head backward, albeit gently, so that he could graze on my neck like a bull in the field. We were still standing in the living room while all this was taking place. "Eric, okay, I am sorry, I take it back," I pleaded with him. "Please stop."

Instantly, he did and was five feet away from me, breathing heavily and lustily in me direction. "Sookie."

I was doing some heavy breathing of my own. "Eric," I responded and reached out to him. We were in the bedroom in the blink of an eye. Eric was eagerly taking his time to undress me; caressing bits of me that I didn't even know existed. All the while I was watching him, as he liked. He crept upward, running his tongue along my backbone saying, "I like the taste of you, lover, and the smell of you, I enjoy every fiber of your being" before standing in front of me, taking face in his hands. "I love you," he said simply and waited.

"I love you, too," I returned, my heart beating in anticipation, and made a motion to kiss him. He dropped his hands and stood back.

"Is it so much to ask that you'll love me forever?" he said.

"I do," I answered simply and honestly. "I don't love anyone else and I am not planning too. I'll love you forever, Eric. I'll love you 'til the day I die."

"That's what I thought," he said sadly.

And that was the image I have of Eric--standing in my bedroom, with a tear of blood running down his left cheek. I haven't seen him since.

* * *

*****A/N*** ;-)**


	35. Chapter 32 April

**A/N: It's a very short chapter, and I apologize, but it grew from the first sentence in another, final chapter. After the reviews from the last chapter, the characters put up a fight and demanded that I rewrite the ending, so I guess there'll be about 4-5 MORE chapters, but I think they will be of the shorter variety.**

* * *

**Chapter 32 April**

April continued on with no word from Eric.

"He did what?" exclaimed Niall, when I told him about the next time he visited. "That stupid vampire!"

"Tell me about it," I cried into my great-grandfather's otherwise pristine shirt.

"I love him; I want him back. Why would he _do_ this?" I asked looking up into Niall's face.

He looked down on me and said, "I do not know, my granddaughter, I do not know."

We sat for a moment, regarding the full moon, when Niall spoke again. "Come with me to Faery-just for a visit, mind you. I promise you'll be safe and sound there, and I can tell you a little more of your history."

"You know what?" I spoke defiantly, "That's sounds like a charming thing to do. I'll just let Amelia know and maybe I'll call…" but I stopped before saying I'd leave a message with Eric. I'd tried to call several times and he never responded. Well, fuck him! "When do we leave?" I asked instead, finishing off my unfinished thought.

"We can leave right now, or I can come back tomorrow for you if you'd like to pack."

"Pack?" I grinned, "Tell me Grandfather, what are they wearing in Faery these days?"

That question garnered a definite chuckle from Niall, "Gowns for the women and tunics for the men, usually made of gossamer or finely spun silk. You see, it is very warm in Faery, so clothing is optionally worn. Some of the elders, don't even own anything clothing and rent those items that they use for ceremonial occasions, so I think a few of your lightest, what do you call them? Oh yes, 'sun dresses' would be fine for you."

"How long will I stay?"

"As long as you want, perhaps a couple of your human weeks, maybe longer? Then you should probably come home and deal with matters here, as I am sure your husband will come to his senses, sooner or later."

"I'll leave tomorrow, if that's okay. I want to buy some clothes."

"Tomorrow evening it is then. Until then, my child, adieu," he said as he kissed my forehead.

I went to bed that evening and read my very dog-eared copy of Jane Eyre. I'd read it many times before, so I flipped to a random spot and picked up from there. Just my luck, it had flipped open to the part of the story where Jane has just found out that Edward was married. She took herself away from Edward in order to deal with this knowledge…she just couldn't stay with him. Did Eric do the same to me? He couldn't deal with my eventually dying, so he took himself away from the picture? Hmmm….maybe. Or was he like Edward, wanting it all, wanting what was his to want to have…

I could see us both in those characters. He'd played his Jane card…well, two could play at that game.

The next day, I went to Tara's and bought all the skimpy, gossamer-type outfits that I could that fit me.

I did leave a note for Amelia, saying not to worry about me. I was safe, but did not tell her where I was.

I didn't call Pam, Sam, Tara, Jason, or anyone else to say where I was going.

Most of all, I didn't say anything to Eric, or rather his voice mail, since he hadn't contacted me since.

The next evening, Niall appeared. "Ready?" He asked.

"As I'll ever be," I replied as we stepped into Faery.

* * *

**Eric POV**

I kissed her for a long time. It had been a while since I'd done that, really since I'd done anything romantic. I felt instantaneously panicked. There was something wrong—a nagging feeling that I couldn't quite get a handle on. I knew Sookie would never leave me, not consciously, but her threat had triggered something in my head.

I broke off the kiss looked into her eyes, very deeply. I wasn't trying to glamour her…I knew that only worked under the most desperate of situations, but I needed to get her to focus on me and what I was trying to tell her. "You are not going to ever say you'll end things between us," I said. This nagging feeling had been brewing since our last incident with Preston. How could she say she could just end our relationship so easily? I didn't understand. I had to convince her get her to understand. "You are going to love me forever. You are going to be mine forever." Didn't she understand? It was too late for me…without her, my life is forfeit. Curiously, she blinked and grinned at me. Didn't' she take me seriously? Did she ever?

"Nope, still not going to work…you can't glamour me!" She sassed at me.

_Fine, _I thought. _I'll just show you how I feel and see if our bond will make you see the truth._ I grabbed her arms and pulled to me and kissed her passionately. Her lips tasted so delicious. My fangs popped out and nicked her, but her blood was so good, so delicious, so sweet, I couldn't stop. I reached for her hair, that smooth mass of golden silk. I left her mouth and felt her heart beat throbbing in her neck begging to be nibbled…

"Eric," she said snapping me back to reality. I hadn't realized that I'd basically been enjoying myself at her expense—that she wasn't participating. She continued on, "Okay, I am sorry, I take it back." Oh shit. I'd hurt her, she sounded scared. "Please stop?" she pleaded, sounding desperate.

Instantly, let go and moved away from her. I was breathing heavily, my heart pounding in my chest. All I could do was apologize again to her, for being too rough…always being too rough, but all I could manage was, "Sookie."

Across the gaping space between us, which in reality was not more than five feet or so, I could hear her heart beating; see her chest pumping up and down. I expected her to be angry with me to yell at me for being rough. She surprised me, "Eric," she responded reaching out to me.

We were in the bedroom in the blink of an eye. I picked her up and flew her in there and began to undress her, slowly, seductively. She was mine. I allowed my hands to slide down her shoulders to unsnap her delicate bra strap. It was a blue one this time. I moved my way down her smooth back cupping her bottom in my hand. I took a moment on the way down to kiss her neck, collar bone, nipple—hard as a rock, paid homage to her belly button, past her increasing baby mound. I grabbed her knickers and teased them off, working my way around to her back again. All the while she stood there stalk still, her fingers in my hair, moaning now and then. I longed to kiss her again and I ran my tongue along her backbone telling her how desirous she was, saying, "I like the taste of you, lover, and the smell of you, I enjoy every fiber of your being." I found myself before her before her and took her preciously fragile face in my hands and said simply, "I love you," and waited for her response.

"I love you, too," she returned, her heart beating in anticipation. She moved toward me and I should have left well enough alone, but I didn't. I dropped my hold on that angelic face and stepped back.

"Is it so much to ask that you'll love me forever?" I asked. I had to know. I wasn't asking if I could turn her on the spot, or ever really. I just needed to know that she loved me enough for that to be a possibility…maybe…someday.

_Points to Sookie Stackhouse Northman, she answered without thinking about it_. I mused to myself as she returned simply and honestly, "I do. I don't love anyone else and I am not planning too." _Well I know that! _I thought bitterly. _Whoever the unlucky son-of-a-bitch might be, Heaven help him if you _ever_ did!_ "I'll love you forever, Eric." _Now you're talking!_ "I'll love you 'til the day I die." _Now you're killing me! _

"That's what I thought," I said sadly. _Sure, she'll love me for her entire life, but leave me and let me live an eternity without her. _I was just about to say something to provoke her…to get her to be reasonable, when the nagging feeling I'd had earlier turned into a really nagging calling…a pulling feeling…my head hurt so bad, my eyes started watering…APPIUS!!! Damn him!

With the world's poorest sense of timing, that fucking maker of mine pulled me away from the potentially most important night of my vampire existence. I couldn't ignore him-JESUS-FUCK! Why now? After all these years!

I had to leave her, right there, watching me, with tears on my face…what she is thinking of me right now, I'd hate to know. That was the last time I saw her.

* * *

**A/N: I almost published this chapter ending at the part where Sookie left to go to Faery, but Eric would have none of it and demanded to let you know his side of the story in the hopes that you aren't mad at him. There really wasn't anything he could do about it-he got called!**


	36. Chapter 33 Star Crossed Lovers

**Chapter 33 Star Crossed Lovers**

**Eric POV (from late March**)

_APPIUS!!! Damn him!_

_With the world's poorest sense of timing, that fucking maker of mine pulls me away from the potentially most important night of my vampire existence. I couldn't ignore him-JESUS-FUCK! Why now? After all these years! _

_I had to leave her, right there, watching me, with tears on my face…what she is thinking of me right now, I'd hate to know. That was the last time I saw her._

* * *

I flew toward the pull of my maker. I finally reached him about three hours away in Kentucky's Smokey Mountains at a remote cabin. He was alone.

"I knew you would come," he said as I walked across the small great room and knelt by the cot he was lying on. "I called you all, you know…each of you in turn," he said as his gray eyes looked up to meet mine.

"Appius," I said to my maker, "what do need from me."

"What do I…?" his hacking cough interrupted him, but he continued, "what do I need from you?"

I stared at him, so shriveled and weak from the last time I saw him, about 800 odd years ago.

"Yes, yes," I said frustrated and wanting to get back to Sookie to explain why I'd flown off, that it wasn't her, "I thought we had an agreement, the last time when we ahh met. Do you remember?"

"Yes, my child, I-" he began.

"Never call me your child! You depraved…" I couldn't go on…as much as I hated him, he'd waved a hand that made me stop instinctively. From the time he'd turned me to the time I left, I had grown so accustomed to his movements, his gestures, his commands, that even though I so clearly had the upper-hand in our present situation, I behaved rather like a schoolboy being reprimanded by his head master, or principal.

"Eric, please, I need to talk to you…" cough, cough, cough… "you were the only one," cough, cough…

"Yes, yes, yes, the only one who what…" I enticed him on to finish, so I could be on my way.

"The only one I have left, the only one who can help me…" cough cough cough…

I sighed and rolled my eyes. He was my maker and, even though I hated him for all he'd put me through, I still had a certain respect for him. "What is it that you need me to do for you?" I asked, with a little more sincerity in my voice.

"I need you to send me to my final death, my ch-Eric," he said bluntly.

I was stunned. "Kill you? You are asking me to kill you?"

"Yes. I am dying and I want to end my existence now. I have lived for almost two thousand years," he said through labored breathing. "I have made many children—all of them are dead now but for you. You were the last, did you know?"

"No I didn't. Why?"

He began coughing again. He was so weak. I looked around for some bottled blood to offer him, but found none. "When was the last time you had any nourishment, Appius?" I asked, concerned.

"I stopped taking blood about a month ago…when I found out I was dying…" cough cough… "please don't try to make me more comfortable, just let me tell you everything I need to tell you, then I want you to do me the honor of sending me to my final death. Would you do that for me?"

I sat there on my knees aghast, with my mouth hanging open like a codfish. What was he doing asking me for a favor? Sure, I'd like to kill him, but I'd struck a bargain with him many years ago, when I'd finally gotten enough strength as a vampire and the opportunity presented itself, not to kill him. I'd overpowered him and caught him unaware. He'd begged for his life in exchange for my freedom. He'd decreed that he'd never contact me again, or call me for any reason. "Why do you think I would do that for you? We made a bargain, all those years ago Appius. You know how I feel about you. Why should I go back on our deal?"

He chuckled softly, which brought on a coughing spell. When he stopped, he smiled serenely again at me and said, "I called you Eric. I made you come here in the midst of whatever it was you were doing, or about to do. Delicious, I might add, but I digress. I ended our bargain by calling you. You now must retaliate against me and finish it off…that is our way."

"Our way has repercussions, Appius."

"You are the only one left, my dear Eric. The others all met their maker, so to speak," he sneered with a wry grin.

"I see. So you called each of your children and killed them?"

"I wanted no complications, you understand."

"I understand…you don't want me to have to pay reparations to anyone…how thoughtful of you," I said with sarcastic intonation.

He waved off my sarcasm with a shoulder shrug. "I want to leave with no loose ends. I have contracted that dreaded disease that you hear about on the news and I don't have long left, but I've made all my final arrangements and I want to die right now, at the hands of someone I love rather than by some microorganism, so if you wouldn't mind indulging me, you'll find a stake over there next to the mallet," he said waving his hand feebly across the room to a table, "whenever you are ready."

"And what are your final arrangements?" I asked, a little curious, trying to stall.

"You were the only child of mine I was truly proud of, that I truly _enjoyed_,_" _he said lasciviously, unable to help his old habit.

"If you are trying to provoke-" I interrupted.

"No my dear one, I meant no harm, old habits, you see. When I was still feeling well, I sent to your friend Mr. Cataliades to put all my holdings and properties in your name. I think," cough cough, "that the portfolio is quite extensive. I hope it will set to rights the some of the pain that I have inflicted on you in the past."

"Some of the pain? Like turning me in the first place, like never letting me see my parents and my children again. Some of the pain, like loneliness, emptiness? I wandered for 800 years before finding one whom I could be with, a true friend…"

"Ah, Pamela—an exquisite creature! But still, you've found love now, haven't you! That's something you would never have had if it weren't for me. Admit that Eric!"

I was enraged. True, I would never have known Sookie, which was, I thought, like never knowing the sunshine…a feeling I knew well. But had I not been turned, I would have had a normal life, I would have died a normal death. I pondered the idea for a moment, but then said, "I will admit that loving Sookie is a bonus in my current existence, and that I will die a good death for having been with such a beautiful creature and having been loved in return. Can you say the same?" I asked.

He looked at me with a final moment of clarity and said, "Yes Eric." And with that, I staked him. I didn't want to know the rest of the answer.

* * *

**Sookie POV (from mid-April)**

_I did leave a note for Amelia, saying not to worry about me. I was safe, but did not tell her where I was._

_I didn't call Pam, Sam, Tara, Jason, or anyone else to say where I was going._

_Most of all, I didn't say anything to Eric, or rather his voice mail, since he hadn't contacted me since._

_The next evening, Niall appeared. "Ready?" He asked._

"_As I'll ever be," I replied as we stepped into Faery._

* * *

I took my great grandfather's arm and stepped once again through the portal into Faery. Niall had cloaked my existence in his realm so that no one was suspicious of the last remaining secret portal between our worlds. It would be disastrous to Niall's rule to have the discovery of an open portal, since they were all supposed to have closed at his decree after the war. I for one, though, was grateful that is was open as it had allowed me to visit with one of my favorite relatives.

After walking out of the closet (does this mean I came out of the closet?) I stepped into the most beautiful room I had ever seen. It was filled with lilies-of-the-valley, daisies, and white tulips in vases on white polished marble tables. The room was awash with sunlight and a gentle breeze billowed the curtains that wofted softly in the breeze. If smelled like a soft spring rain had just fallen outside and the sound of chickadees and mourning doves filled the air. It was, in short, Heaven on Earth, or at least my kind of Heaven! I had a deep desire to don my bikini and go and sit in the sun. I asked Niall if that would be okay to do.

"Whatever your desire is my darling great-granddaughter, it shall be fulfilled," was his response. He beamed as he said it and I knew instantly that my being here was one of his keenest desires. "Let me show you around first and let you get acquainted with the palace before letting you wonder off onto the grounds. Come with me."

I took his arm up again and drank in one more breath of that heavenly scent as we drifted upstairs, our feet hardly touching the stairs as we went. Every breath I took was an intoxicating fragrance, lilies, freesia, lilac, mock orange, rose, and on and on…and the light, the sun was pouring in every open window. I'd been spending so many days sleeping in and working evenings and being up with Eric during the night that I could scarcely remember being so inundated with the sun; to think I used to sunbathe for hours almost every day…I sure missed that!

That sudden thought of Eric sent a pang of guilt though me like an arrow. I steeled myself against it and pressed forward. He left me abruptly after I refused to promise that I'd be turned. Well, he knew what I was from the beginning, and there was no reason he should have expected any differently from me. I still made me so mad to think of him leaving like that, I could just scream! Oh great! Now I was in a bad mood, and in the beautiful place. All the sudden I needed a nap, I was so tired.

As if he could hear my thoughts, Niall turned to me and said, "Are you tired my child? Would you like to see your room and rest?"

"Ye—es," I sighed through a yawn, "sorry, I didn't mean to yawn at you. I am just so tired! Maybe the trip over, or is it through, takes a lot out of a human."

"That could be, Sookie," said Niall with a twinkle in his eye, or it could be that you are an expectant mother carrying a lot of little ones. It's bound to make you a little sleepy. Here we are, my dear."

He opened the door and guided me into a room as beautiful as the hall that we had just left. It was blue, like an Easter egg is, after one a minute of dipping in the dye, with white white trim. Again, frsh cut flowers were strewn about the place with the same fresh scents. A four poster canopy bed was position with the head against the wall farthest from me and a small sitting area was gathered around a never-used fireplace. Fire flies flitted around outside the window like, well like "fairy lights," I thought and that made me smile.

"Are you happy here?" Niall asked as he turned to look at me.

"I am—content feeling here, thank you."

He patted my arm and turned to leave. "Sookie, I must tell you that no one knows you are in Faery. The fortunate thing for me was that this forgotten portal was in the broom closet of my summer palace. As I was out of residence, the wait staff was at a minimum, so I gave the remaining ones the rest of the spring season off. You and I are the only two here, so you should feel free to roam about the place up to the edge of the gardens. Please do not venture further, and should anyone approach you, or see you, please call me immediately."

"Umm, okay, but how do I call you?"

"Just think to me…" he said open-endedly and left.

Just think to me, just think to me…was he trying to tell me that he's a, "_mind reader my dear, yes I am, now go to sleep little one," _thought Niall to me. I wanted to think a little more, but sleep overcame me instead.

* * *

**A/N: I hope this keeps you all going...the story took a turn in a unexpected way, but never fear, I'll keep writing until done. Currently I have about 38 chapters mapped out to completion. Thanks for sticking with me.**


	37. Chapter 34 Eric's Tales

**A/N: This is for all of you who were wondering just what the heck Eric was up to those couple of weeks while our dear heroine was wondering where he was. Hopefully this gives Eric a little more depth and we can all forgive him for his shallowness in previous chapters. Anyway, let me now what you think about the newcomer...I've always wondered about the blond hair issue between Sookie and Eric in the books and thought terrible genetic thoughts...**

**Most of the characters are Charlaine Harris's, I've added a few new ones to spice it up a bit. Promise I'll give them all back when this tale is done...**

**

* * *

****Chapter 34 Eric's Tales**

**Eric POV – the day after the staking**

I sat in disbelief at what I had done. I had never experienced the death of a parent before, and while I would love to have disowned Appius, I had to come to terms that he was the reason I was still here. He made me into a vampire—one of the most fearsome creatures to roan the planet. He honed my skills as a warrior and as a warrior I would honor him.

I scooped up his remaining ashes and put them in a jar that was on the table by where the stake and mallet had been sitting only yesterday. I wondered if he'd left it there. I flew through the night to New York's JFK and caught the earliest Anubis Air flight to London and flew by myself at night over the course of the next few nights to Rome.

I knew Appius Livius Ocella was a Roman about 1500 years old or so, but I knew nothing more about him than this, other than he was a Roman soldier of sorts before his turning. I knew a little about burial rites of the Roman soldier but that _memoria_ was very important to them. Still, I couldn't go around erecting monuments and markers to commemorate his death, and I had none of his possessions or weaponry to bury him with in the style of my own people, so I decided to adopt a purely modern-American ritual of scattering his ashes around. I visited each of the Seven Hills of Rome and spread a little on each hill and let him scatter to the wind. I decided I would honor his memory with a marker at my home in Louisiana, instead.

I wasn't particularly religious, per se, but I didn't want to anger his spirit nonetheless. Funny, I thought to myself, I wonder if my memory will be preserved. Sookie would remember me, but would she outlast me? Perhaps not.

Thinking of Sookie, my wife, made me think of Aude, the only other woman in my life to hold that title, who had passed so many centuries before. I hadn't been to her burial site in many centuries, but I remembered where it was and where my village was, just like it was yesterday. I decided to fly by myself at night to what is now Norway, to a little southern village on the tip of the peninsula. I found the village still occupied and then some.

I had constructed her burial mound just outside the village proper and with all this urban sprawl, it took me a moment or two to orient myself with the mountain range before landing in the spot where I had laid her to rest. If vampires could faint, I would have. I shopping center had been built where her burial mound had stood. She'd been desecrated. Frantically, I searched around and stumbled on a sign that read, "_Come see the best preserved female Viking burial in the world." _It was open until midnight, so I paid and went in.

It was late at night, just about closing time, and there was no line. I descended the stairs to the lower level and walked down the dimly lit corridor and met the docent who asked if I had anyone else in my party.

"No," I replied in modern Norwegian, so similar in many ways to my own native tongue, Old Norse I think they call it.

He put me in a cart saying, "Please keep your hands and feet in the cart and enjoy your tour."

"Thank you," I mumbled and the cart began to move. The cart moved backward to simulate the movement back in time to the age of the Vikings. It then turned around and moved forward again through a little village scene and in and out of houses. I smelled different odors that were vaguely familiar as the cart passed through a mock up of a long house and then by the outhouse. Finally, the cart pulled through the fake village to the remains of my home village…and then I saw her.

I had placed Aude and our child together all those years ago. From time to time I would visit the burial mound, but I hadn't been back in so long. I regretted I had not honored her memory more by visiting more often…time just slipped by, I suppose. I hopped out of the cart, and on impulse, without thinking, I broke the glass, and took her and the child and walked quickly out of the museum out the exit door while the alarm sirens were blaring.

I flew up into the sky and flew into the mountains, near the town where I found the old cave that I explored as a child. It was obscure and out of the way and I thought that if I blocked the entrance with a few strategically placed stones, it wouldn't be disturbed. I laid their bodies down on the ground and arranged what was left of them as I had arranged them so many years ago; when I noticed that her broach was missing.

I had no choice but to go back and retrieve it. I decided to wait for the next night to come around for the police and investigators to leave the crime scene. I surveyed the scene from the air and decided to land on the roof of the shopping complex and then move down to the basement via the emergency stairs. I moved with my usual speed, cautiously not looking at the closed circuit TV camera—after all, my speed wasn't immune to the pause button.

I moved toward the broach and had it in my hand when a silver net flew around me and a voice said in Norwegian, "We thought you'd be back."

*******

"You're where?" asked Pam, completely dumbfounded when I told her.

"In jail, as I said—look I cannot retell the whole tail right now, please call Cataliades and tell him to book it over here right now," I said exasperated. I didn't mean to snap at her, but I needed to get out of this mess. "And you'd better place a call to King Felipe as well. Make something up as to why I'm not available for the weekly call-ins. Okay?"

"Understood. And Sookie?" she asked poking a particular button. And Sookie indeed, what to tell her about this whole mess!

"I'll tell her about it when I get back and get it all cleared up. Just tell her I am safe and thinking about her. Has she called to ask about me?" I hoped she had, but I wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't. I didn't exactly leave her in the best way.

"No, why?"

"She hasn't called my cell phone eith—" then I realized that my cell was back at the office. I had left it there on my last night with Sookie so we wouldn't be disturbed, I continued, "Pam check my office in the top drawer and see if she left any messages. Right now please," I said as I could hear some rummaging.

"Yes there are three," said Pam. "Do you want me to tell you what they all are?"

"Of course," I said.

"The first one, she's frantic. She wants to know where you are going and why you left, and says if you don't call her back right away she's not going to speak to you and who do you think you are anyway talking her to like that and she wants you to go fuck yourself. How cute!"

"PAMELA!"

"Sorry!" she said behind a not too well veiled grin. "The second one is from a few days later and she's very sappy and she wants you to come back. She said she'd do anything to see you again and to please let her know where you are and that you are safe and that she's sorry that she won't do that thing that you want, but it just isn't who she is, but could you please just come home and you can discuss it with her. So master, what is the one thing?"

"PAM!" I growled

"The third message is rather serious. She waited a whole two weeks to call. She sounds like she's been crying very heavily and says she's going to talk things over with Niall and see what he advises her to do. Maybe you'll see her again, and maybe you won't, but she says it sounds like you favor the latter, and here she points out that is a Word of the Day, whatever that means, and that she thinks she'll fly off your radar and go about her own business from now on, if it's all the same to you."

"Pam. I only have a minute left to talk. I want you to find Sookie and tell her…tell her I love her and hope that she never feels I don't. Tell her I'll be home soon and will explain everything to her then, okay?"

"Will do boss. I will get Cataliades over there ASAP. Don't worry about Sookie. I'll take care of things there too. Be safe."

"I will and please watch the bar for me. I have to go. Bye."

"Good bye."

*******

"But you don't understand," said Cataliades on my behalf, "my client IS her husband. He was turned shortly after her death. He is her next of kin and…"

"You expect me to believe that?" said the young blond haired blue eyed striking museum keeper named Havard Erikson. His name meant the high guardian son of Erik.

"I do," I responded looking him right in the eye.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you can't come in here claiming you are the next of kin. Look buddy," he said pointing a finger at me, "if anyone is related to her I AM!"

Now that threw me for a loop. "What do you mean?" I said ignoring Mr. Cataliades requests for me to keep my mouth shut.

Fortunately, Havard seemed to want to tell his story, so the judge let him speak and Cataliades backed off. I was enthralled, watching him very closely, seeing his mannerisms, so very familiar to me. He explained that when the shopping center broke ground, genetic testing had just come into fashion. In England, they had found a body in a cave in Cheddar and decided to run a genetic sampling of the village populous only to find that there was a distinct match, that of a local teacher, whose family had lived there 9000 years earlier. The shopping center owner decided to do a similar thing here and discovered that Havard Erikson was the sole relative of this ancient body.

Operating on the fact that a good gimmick will draw a crowd to the shopping center, the owner decided to set up a mini museum in the basement and have tours of a real burial site and hired Havard to be the curator, since he already had a background in the field.

"So, if you say you are the next of kin, Mr. Northman, then I must be your relative too. Right? So a simple test will prove it. If you are right, then we are related and you bear a closer kinship and right of ownership of her remains and if you are wrong, you will go to jail. Sound okay?" asked the ruthless son-of-a…well he didn't get that from my side of the family!

"Fine, son," I leered with a good-natured wink, "bring it on."

The tests took two weeks to run, and the judge let me out on bail as long as I stayed in the city with Mr. Cataliades, which I did. I too was interested to see what the results would yield. I already knew that if they found a match to Aude, that they would be a match to me. After all, I was the father of her only living children.

Two weeks later, I was called back to the judge's chambers to find that yes indeed I was the 28th great grandfather (give or take a generation or two) of Havard. He embraced me. "I don't have any family," he said simply.

"And now you do," I responded.

The owner of the shopping mall was outraged to find that according to law, I, as the closest living relative had the right to decide how the deceased would be laid to rest. I wasn't about to let Aude and the baby rest in that freak show, which my now-ashamed grandson had to admit was the right course of action. Of course, that meant that all the artifacts from the burial site were mine too, so I took the lot of them and very privately brought them to the cave where Aude and the child were, and placed them around her as I had done so many years ago and said a prayer for her soul and for the baby too. I kissed them both and left them again and sealed the cave shut with many boulders and flew back to the town to see my grandson again.

*******

"What will you do now?" I asked him.

"I don't know really, I am at a bit of a loose end."

"Come with me and meet my wife and my family in Louisiana. I'll find a job for you there if you like, or you could just live there and see if something strikes your fancy."

He thought a long while about this. I could see the wheels turning in his head, "You know something? I think I will. What have I got to lose?" he asked with enthusiasm.

"Good. Do you have a passport?" I asked.

"Yes, I had to get one a few years ago, so I am free to leave at a moment's notice."

"Good," I said to him, "I have some pressing matters to attend to at home, and I'd like to get back to them as quickly as possible."

We left on the next Anubis Air and flew straight from Oslo to New Orleans. I surprised Havard by flying him from New Orleans to Shreveport via Air Eric. I hate rental cars. The first order of business, was introducing him to Pam.

I walked into Fangtasia and found her occupying my dais and enthralling the masses. I walked up to her and she said, "Master how nice to see you again."

"Is all well?" I asked, meaning id Sookie okay, since obviously the bar hadn't burned down in my lengthy absence.

"She is safe," was all she said cryptically, and then said, "and who is this tasty sampler you have with you this evening?" and she popped her fangs out half-way. Havard stepped behind me a little and I looked back to see his reaction to Pam. He was quite scared.

"Back off Pam! I order you to be extra polite to this one. You see he's my--, " I began.

"Surely, you haven't given up on Sookie and replaced her with another, no matter how yummy he is."

"I wasn't going to say he's mine. I was going to tell you he's my great to the 28th degree grandson. Treat him with as much respect as you would me."

"Yes Master," she said with wide eyes. I hadn't seen her look that floored since….well since ever come to think of it. I grinned a little at her.

"Well, keep him safe and explain things to him a little. I am off to see Sookie and tell her about where I've been for the past few weeks. I am sure she's livid."

"She's not at home," said Pam deadpan.

"Okay, where is she?"

"She left a note for Amelia saying that she'd be safe. I've asked around and tried to track her. I've had the packs that have been sworn to protect her, out sniffing and hunting and no one has brought up a trace of her. I was waiting until you came back to see if you could feel her presence and see where she might be…"

I let her explanation trail off in my ears and I reached out with everything to see if I could sense her through our bond. I couldn't. She was dead to me and I sank to my feet. Havard caught me and eased me to my chair, hastily vacated by Pam. I guess vampires can faint.

* * *

A/N: Hello me again, so let me have your reveiws and thoughts, they are most welcome and keep me writing!


	38. Chapter 35 Sookie's Tale

**Chapter 35 Sookie's Tales**

**Sookie POV**

I awoke from my slumber to find my great-grandfather sitting by my bedside smiling at me. He had brought a tray of fresh fruit and eggs and sausages and oatmeal. "Wow, this is a really great breakfast and so nice to wake up to!" I said smiling at him.

_Think nothing of it, my dear, _he thought at me, _but please do think it. _And he smiled at me.

_Thank you. How is it that you are able to think to use telepathy? Why haven't I felt it in you before and why didn't you try it out with me before now? _I asked in thought.

He spoke out loud in response, "I wanted to see if you had the ability. You see, this is a family trait. My mother had it before me and her father before her, and his mother, well now that's a tale. But your grandfather didn't have this ability, his sister did. She passed it to her daughter."

"Claudine?" I asked, enthralled.

"Yes, but she never had the ability as strongly as you do. She was only able to sense emotions, more or less. That's why I thought she would be the best godmother to you. Whether or not you knew what you were doing, you called out to her in times of extreme trouble and you were able to let her know where to come and save you."

_So why did the ability jump back over to me? I certainly didn't want it, I am less Faery than all of you, so why me? _I thought.

_We have a story from the old people, little one. Join me in thought and I will tell it to you. Are you able to see the pictures in my thoughts as well? _he asked me.

_Yes, I think so…I'll try anyway. Go ahead. _I told him.

He settled back in his chair and put his feet up on the end table—not at all his usually reserved self. He began:

***

_Once upon a time, there were seven sisters, not the kind of sisters that are kin to each other; I guess you'd call them witches in your world, but in Faery we call them sisters. I know that you experienced a Faery War, but my dear, that was really only a minor skirmish compared to the lengthy battles we used to have with rivaling clans. In the not too distant past, about a thousand years ago or so, there were many clans in Faery, about ten or so. We would fight back and forth, sneak through different realms for an attack, and so forth. So much fun!_

_But we were losing too many battles, and our numbers were dwindling. So, my clansman, the Brigants, suggested that we that the elders challenge the Faery sisters of our clan to develop skills that we may utilize in order to have an edge in battle. The sisters pondered the idea for a while and then decided to see which among them could invoke the greatest power in the entire realm._

_For months and months the sisters toiled away, practicing here and there, all the while we were battling with clans all around. Our numbers were dwindling and soon it would be too late. The clan elders decided to hold a palaver to discuss this and it was determined that we must ask the sisters of their progress._

"Was this a dangerous thing to do? Asking them I mean," I said out loud.

Niall cleared his throat to respond, "Yes. The sisters often sat in a trance, rather like your Delphic Sybil in Greece—in fact she may have been a descendent of one of the sisters. At any rate, if you approached them in such a state, you ran the risk of serious injury, or even death."

"Really? How?" I asked, not able to help myself.

"Well, I suppose they would curse you, or could just simply attack," he replied shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh," I pondered. _Please continue grandfather._ And I saw him concentrating and took a moment to tap his mind which was shuffling through thoughts like a spinning Rolodex. He finally settled on one and began to think to me.

_Where was I? Oh yes, they decided to meet with the sisters. Three men were chosen to seek an answer. Their names were, Kynan Nani (chief charming), Tristram Raghnall (sad wise), Sulwyn Brigant (bright as the sun strong)._

_Kynan Nani was the eldest son of our clan chief. He was a fierce warrior, as were we all, but he had been educated outside of the clan and had brought back with him the ways of the others. He remained unmarried at an older age, and was much coveted by the eligible women in the clan, such a suave and sophisticated son-of-a-bitch!_

"Niall! I'm shocked. I've never heard you swear!" I said, absolutely appalled at such language coming from him. I'm not exactly virgin-ears, but I draw the line at swearing grandparents. Gran would never say such things…I think, well at least not the Gran I remembered.

"I've mellowed in my old age, but I was young once too, little one, and with a mouth and a vast working vocabulary with which to employ it. But let's get back to our tale, shall we?"

_Agreed. _I thought as Niall's Rolodex memories floated past. There were a few that I made note of to ask him about later and a few that wanted to skip and forget. I thought he should have some of them password protected. He gave me a wink, like he'd heard that. Oops!

_Kynan, as the elsdest son of the chief, had the attitude that everyone and everything in the world should bow to his whims and needs._

_The second chosen man was Tristram Raghnall. He was the second son of the village wise man. The eldest would have been chosen for the task, but had been killed in the most recent battle against the warring clans. He was very much like his father and had a good sound mind and often thought before acting, unlike Kynan. But his brother's death altered him, in ways that were not apparent at the time of the choosing, or he would not have been allowed to go, and one of his younger brothers, or even another clansman might have gone instead. _

_Hind sight is always perfect, though isn't it? _Niall thought to me_._

_Yes. _I thought back_. This is getting good, please continue. _Niall began again with a wink.

_Tristan was said to have been a very kind lad and as I said very patient in thinking. He was meant to be the temper to Kynan's passionate and headstrong ways._

_And this Sulwyn Brigant, was he a relative of ours? _I thought to Niall.

_Yes, little one, he was my great-grandfather._ Niall continued. _Sulwyn Brigant, the third member of the chosen ones, possessed great strength. Our Brigant kin have always had strength, if not physically than mentally. Your Brigant strength is what physically allowed you to survive your unfortunate attack and what mentally allowed you to overcome it. Without it, you may have been a basket case, I believe the term is that your human friends might use. _

_With the triumvirate of charm, wisdom and strength, the elders believed that they had the ability to seek an audience with the seven sisters. They set forth on their three-day journey and discussed how they might approach the sisters. Kynan naturally appointed himself the leader of the group and the others out of deference to his family's status in the clan readily agreed. _

_On the arduous journey into the foothills of the Fae Mountains, Tristram came up with a plan as to how to approach the sisters. His idea was sound. They should, he said, go one at a time with a gift and offer it to the sisters. This would allow the sisters to snap out of their trance-like state and wake up enough to be cordial. Sulwyn secretly thought this sounded like a fine idea, but declined to say anything because his role in this process was to act as the group's body guard._

_Kynan didn't like this idea and dismissed it with a wave of his hand. He told the others that they were going to approach the sisters and the sisters would bow to him as he was the son of the leader of the clan and that someday he would be their leader and they better get used to it, now. He was never rumored to be the sharpest knife in the drawer._

_The three mulled this approach over the course of the next two days. Sulwyn, not saying anything, but secretly thinking that Kynan was wrong and Tristram, arguing until Kynan made a nasty comment about his recently deceased brother. Tristram did not speak again from that point forward and remained a mute for the remainder of his life, short as it was to be._

_On the afternoon of the third day of travel, they approached the sisters, all seated in a circle evenly spaced out. They were chanting in the language of the old ones. Kynan charmingly began his foolhardy speech by entering into the circle. The chanting stopped abruptly and a split second later, lightening struck him stone cold dead._

_Tristram, already non-speaking at this point, looked over to Sulwyn with wide eyes, encouraging him to say something._

"_Who dares to disturb us in our chanting?" asked Barrett, the eldest sister looking by this time at Sulwyn. _

"_A thousand apologies, my lady, we were sent by the elders to see how their quest progresses," said Sulwyn trying to get their objective across._

"_I do apologize myself, on behalf of my sisters," said Barrett. "If the young man had waited a few minutes we would have been done."_

"_Was that any reason to kill him?" asked Sulwyn._

"_Again, I apologize, but that was not our doing, but that of the great mother. She doesn't care to be disturbed when she is speaking to her daughters. If only he had been more patient."_

"_It is regrettable to be sure, but yet we are tasked with bringing back information on how you progress. May I be so bold as to inquire?"_

"_Certainly, young man. Please sit on the stones over there and rest your feet. You must be tired from your long journey, and hungry. Erimentha, please…" she began, but the youngest sister was already on her way over bringing the surviving two a meal and drink of nectar ale. Barrett rolled her eyes and said, "She's been doing that lately, and not working on your request. I am sorry."_

"_Doing what?" asked Sulwyn._

"_Doing things before anyone tells her to. It's odd," said Barrett. But Sulwyn Brigant didn't find it odd, so much as he found it pleasant and found her pleasant. He observed Erimentha all through dinner, thinking how beautiful and graceful she was and how he thought that maybe she looked like she was hiding something when she suddenly looked up at him and blushed and looked away._

_Sulwyn grinned and thought a few more thoughts that led him to blush too. About a minute and a half later a very cold bucket of water was thrown on Sulwyn by a non-blushing and non-grinning Erimentha. "ARRGH! What did you do that for?" he shouted at her._

"_You just look like you could use a little cooling off," she told him and walked off._

_Barrett laughed. "Our Erimentha has a bit of a temper on her. You'd be wise to steer clear of her; I don't trust her behavior of late."_

"_Oh," said Sulwyn and left it at that, but he had a feeling that rather than steer clear, he was going to nonchalantly maneuver himself very much in her way, and as often as he could. He went on thinking about this for the duration of dinner. In fact, the more wine they gave him, the more dirty his thoughts became._

"Okay stop right there! I don't need to know about the dirty thoughts; I get the picture, all right?" I admonished Niall.

"I understand, but I wouldn't tell you if it weren't an integral part of the story."

"Fine, but keep it clean; this is a family Faery tale," I told him. He just chuckled and went back to the story.

_So they all retired for the evening. That night, Sulwyn had dreams of Erimentha. He dreamed that they were going to marry and have children and would one day be the rulers of all of Faery with all the clans united. He woke up in his tent to find that Erimentha was sitting beside his bed. "I know, I do, and I will," she said to him._

"_What?" he asked sleepily._

_She held his hand and looked into his eyes. "You have kind eyes and a good heart. Please tell me what you were dreaming about."_

_Without pause he responded, "I was dreaming that we were married. We had children together. We ruled over a united kingdom."_

"_And now tell me what you were thinking just as you woke up and saw me," she encouraged with a smile._

"_I thought about telling you that I love you."_

"_I know."_

"_I wondered if you loved me too."_

"_I do."_

"_I wanted to know if you would marry me."_

"_I will, but only if you can tell me how I knew you would ask me, before you spoke the words."_

"_You read minds, don't you," he said more as a statement of fact, rather than the question it should have been. _

_She smiled broadly at him and told him that this was her weapon that she had been developing. "I couldn't tell anyone as it is a dangerous and permanent spell that I cast on myself. If I had told the sisters ahead of time, they wouldn't have let me."_

_While she was telling him this, he had been gently stroking her arm up and down and admiring her beautiful golden hair and blue eyes. "I'm glad you didn't tell them," he said dreamily. He slid his hand up behind her neck and pulled her in to kiss him. "I love you," he said out loud to her._

_She pulled back and said, "I love you, too, and yes I will be your wife." She smiled at him and gazed into his eyes, knowing that a bond had formed that evening. It would be the two of them against the world from that point forward, no matter what happened. "Tomorrow you will need to ask Barrett to have us show our skills. She has already thought you'd do this and she is ready with hers. She is the eldest and we will go in order of age. I will go last as I am the youngest…the others are ready with their skills too but mine is by far the most useful and practical. I've practiced with range. I followed on your journey to our encampment. How come you didn't join the argument with Kynan?"_

"_What would have been the point in that? He was going to do what he wanted to do without considering other alternatives. Sometimes it is better to be silent and let your leaders rise to the level of their incompetence. As you can see, that's just what happened."_

"_I am hoping that's what happens here tomorrow. The others are all very clever with their skills, but I can feel that I am correct in my belief that this power of mine is going to be the best. Coupled with your dream, I know we can turn the tide and we can lead our people to victory," she said and hastily kissed him again. "Until tomorrow."_

_He watched her as she floated away from him and down to her own tent in the lower part of the encampment. How he longed to follow her, but first things first. He slept dreamlessly the rest of the night._

_In the morning, after breakfast, with Tristram still not speaking, Sulwyn broached the subject of showing their skills with Barrett, the eldest sister._

"_We are ready," she said. "Sisters, we will show our skills after breakfast and Sulwyn will make his pick of the greatest among us. His choice will be binding and we will not speak further on the matter. Understood?"_

"_Erimentha," thought Sulwyn to her. She looked up slightly showing she heard him. "Does Barrett think she has the best skill? Does she think she will be chosen?" She nodded her head slightly and looked away. "Will she be angry when she is not chosen?" Again, a head nod. "Thank you, my lover." She blushed as she walked away from him quickly, lest she give herself away._

"_Ladies, my companions and I have been charged by the elders to choose the weapon for our clan. I hope you have you prepared sufficiently. The elders regret that they are not able to allow more time, but our numbers are dwindling. I must report our choice back to the council of elders in four days time."_

"_Yes, we shall proceed at your request. I will state my case first and we will proceed by order of age," said Barrett. Barrett's name meant strength of a bear and it was her idea that their powers should reflect their names, as their names had been chosen to represent their spirit. Barrett's choice of weapon was the ability to sweep an enemy army to the ground with a wave of her hand. She demonstrated on a pile of rocks and Sulwyn was very much impressed. Barrett looked pleased. Erimentha shook her head slightly._

_Awena, the seer, stepped up to give her demonstration next and to explain her choice. Sulwyn was asked to write down several words on a parchment and ride a great distance away. When he held the parchment up, Awena read the words aloud to the sisters. Sulwyn was very impressed by this ability. "I can see the enemy approaching and can easily tell what they are doing with my special telescopic sight," she said. Erimentha caught Sulwyn's eye with a little wink of her own._

_The third sister was called Myrrh which meant natural scent. Her power seemed benign to the first two sisters and they tittered while she defended herself. "You two might be able to see them and swat them away from a distance, but I can smell them before they can see us. My power would indeed be useful for sneaking up on the enemy, or for fleeing if need be," she said. Sulwyn thanked her and moved on to the fourth sister._

_Delta, the mouth, had developed a keen power of taste. "All the better to know you aren't being poisoned by an enemy." Sulwyn thought this was a handy diplomacy skill, but would not much good on the battlefield._

_The fifth sister, Caressa, was a very timid and gentle creature and her power lay in the shaking of hands. Her touch could invoke peace. Again, not what Sulwyn needed, but very handy to know._

_Solada, the sixth sister was the listener. She conjured the power of thoughtful listening. Though she could not read minds, she had the uncanny ability to hear beyond what words were being spoken. She could listen to a conversation and pick up the true intentions behind the inflections in the voices and the body language. This was indeed a special gift and would be wonderfully useful at a bargaining counsel. She would have had Sulwyn's vote had Erimentha's gift not been available._

"_Well that's all of us," said thought Barrett, and she began to say, "Well that's—" but was interrupted by Erimentha, who had yet to speak._

"_That isn't all of us Barrett and you know it. I have to show my talent now."_

"_Your talent? You haven't been practicing anything since we were asked," said Barrett, who at the same time was thinking, "You've just been walking around and acting bizarre."_

"_I haven't been walking around and acting bizarre!" said Erimentha, the collector of thoughts._

_Barrett was taken aback. Erimentha looked at the rest of the sisters and just smiled. _

"_What can you do?" one of them was thinking. "I wonder what she can do," thought another._

"_Well I'll answer you both. I am the most powerful of us all, for I can tell what all people are thinking, all the time. Enemies or friends, and that is most powerful gift of all."_

"_This is nonsense," said Barrett. "Sulwyn, make your choice. I guess you have six sisters worthy of your choice," and she went on thinking, "since the seventh wasted her time foolishly."_

"_I didn't waste my time foolishly Barrett and you know it," said Erimentha. No one ever talked back to Barrett, and this statement angered her. She thought about casting a spell on Erimentha, and raised her finger quickly, but Erimentha heard her thoughts and jumped out of the way in time. The unfortunate recipient of this spell was Tristram, who was turned into a toad and proceeded to hop away. _

_***_

"No one has seen him since, but rumor is that if you kiss him, he'll turn back into his Faery form and fall in love with you, so be careful about kissing frogs," said Niall out loud.

I grinned. "So are you telling me that all the fairy tales I grew up with are real?" I asked him.

"Yes, they are all real…from a certain point of view."

"So what happened next?" I asked.

"Next, well, Barrett was punished by her sisters and sentenced to death for pointing her finger at a fellow sister in anger, and Erimentha and Sulwyn were married and the Brigants became the ruling family in Faery."

"So this 'gift' of mine, of ours, was a self-inflicted curse? Can it be lifted?" I asked.

"Yes," replied Niall, "it is, and no it cannot. It became engrained in our genetic makeup the moment my great-grandmother cast it on herself and will remain in our family forevermore."

"So what was the point of the story?"

"It was to tell you about the love story of Erimentha and Sulwyn. They knew from the start they were meant for each other and destined to do great things, and they did. It reminds me of another young power couple I know and love."

"And who is that?" I asked thinking there was another tale coming.

"Sookie and Eric," he said and smiled at me while he left my room so I could get dressed.

***

I continued to enjoy the good life in Niall's little palace setting. Days floated into weeks as Niall told me more and more about my heritage and the Fae, but I couldn't help but get the feeling that, as good as it was here, it wasn't my place and I needed to get home.

"How long has it been since I came here Grandfather?" I asked him one day after breakfast, "It feels like I've been gone for almost a month."

"Well, you have been here for about three weeks in Faery time," he said.

I thought about that. _Faery time? _

_Yes, Niall responded, Faery time is about three times longer than human time._

"Nine weeks? Oh no! ERIC! He must be worried sick about me. I can't feel him, so he must not feel me! Oh, and I didn't leave a god note, or tell Pam! I've been so stupid and selfish!" I began to pack my bags immediately and Niall prepared me for the journey home. I hated to leave this wonderful place and Niall, but I had to get back to where my heart belonged.

At the entrance of Faery, I hugged Niall one last time and before I stepped over the threshold, he caught my arm and said, "Remember the Faery tale and remember that beyond her ability and great power, lay the love between Erimentha and Sulwyn. That was the greatest power of all and it built a nation."

I regarded him and stepped through the portal back to my own place and time, with a much better understanding of who I was and where I needed to be, and with whom.

I walked out of the woods with my duffle bag and entered the back door of my house and called out, "Amelia, I'm back. I just want to collect my th—what's the matter?" I asked. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"What's the ma-" she started, but a crying jag caught in her throat and she rushed over to hug me. She cried jaggedly on my shoulder for a good while, all the time repeating, "It's you. It's really you!"

**A/N: Please let me know if you liked or disliked the fairy tale. I wanted to play around the names and meanings, etc. and this was a good way to provide some family lore for Sookie. DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters in this story, just having a bit of fun with them. Thanks for sharing!**


	39. Chapter 36 Eric Goes a Little Bananas

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing. Disclaimer, these are Charlaine Harris's characters. Thanks for the loan.**

* * *

**Chapter 36 Eric Goes a Little Bananas**

**Eric POV-mid-May, shortly after the discovery that Sookie was gone.**

"_She left a note for Amelia saying that she'd be safe. I've asked around and tried to track her. I've had the packs that have been sworn to protect her, out sniffing and hunting and no one has brought up a trace of her. I was waiting until you came back to see if you could feel her presence and see where she might be…" _

_I let her explanation trail off in my ears and I reached out with everything to see if I could sense her through our bond. I couldn't. She was dead to me and I sank to my feet. Havard caught me and eased me to my chair, hastily vacated by Pam. I guess vampires can faint._

_***_

"ERIC! ERIC!" Pam was screaming in my ear. "Wake up!"

I opened my eyes to see the interior of my office. Havard and Pam were staring down at me with dual looks of concern.

"Does this happen often?" Havard asked.

"NO!" exclaimed Pam. "This has never happened ever to any vampire, as far as I know…what is your name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, allow me to introduce myself, I'm Havard Erikson. Pleased to meet you…Pam?" he said extending his hand, not knowing that we vampires don't shake hands.

"Pamela Ravenscroft," said Pam and to my complete surprise, she took his hand and shook it. She must be smitten.

I was fully awake now and lucid enough to see Pam grinning at me like the Cheshire cat. "You fainted Master. Don't worry, we carried you into the office quickly and no one was looking. The bar has been dead the past week or so, since you stopped making appearances."

I didn't care about the damned bar right now. "Sookie, I can't feel her," I said brokenly.

"Amelia called me to tell me about the note and wondered if you two had had a fight or something. She thought Sookie took off somewhere. She hasn't been to see her friend Tara, or Sam, or Alcide, and Bill hasn't seen her either. He isn't able to sense her. Quinn's dead and so is Preston, so I don't quite know who would have taken her. You don't suppose Niall, or Felipe or…" she began.

"No Niall gave me his word that he wouldn't interfere with us anymore after all that he has put us through. His word is good with me. Felipe wouldn't risk his reputation. Has the witch tried to cast a spell to search for her?"

"Yes, she's called on Olivia and the rest of the coven too, but with no luck."

While this conversation was taking place, I could see Havard trying to do the mental math. I quickly brought him up to speed on the situation between me and my wife. His eyes were big and round as I told him about the shifters, the weres, the witches and the Faeries in addition to a little more vampire lore. I had told him some on the plane trip over. Not everyone knew about the other supernatural beings, besides the vamps and the two-natured, so I think he took it fairly well, considering.

"And this wife of yours has telepathic abilities AND she's a Faery too?" he asked, trying to get it straight.

"No she's not a full Faery, just part Faery. She's pregnant too and coming close to term too. Triplets. So I am very concerned for her safety. She attracts trouble."

"And the babies, they are not yours, right? I think you told me vampires cannot have children."

"No I am not the natural father, but that is another story that we needn't get into now. Right now, Pam I need you to take over my sheriff duties, and Havard, how would you like to help run a bar?"

"Sure Eric, I've been a bartender before when I was in college, so I know a few tricks of the trade," he said. He'd chosen to call me Eric and not grandfather, since we were about the same age in appearance. He said he felt more like my cousin than a grandson. I agreed.

"Well, you don't have to pour drinks to the vermin; in fact, I'd prefer you not do this as we have bad luck with our bartenders."

"Bad luck?" he asked.

Pam responded in her deadpan voice, "They generally die on us."

"Oh," replied Havard. "Well, I'll help in any way I can."

Pam stood back and looked Havard up and down. "Master, he's certainly tall enough and he's a dead ringer for you, and those lovely blue eyes, just like yours…with a little make-up, most of the vermin couldn't tell the difference…" she said as her fangs popped out a little.

"Back off Pam, he's family. Yes, I see your point. Havard, what Pamela is trying to say is that she thinks you'd be good at enthralling the vermin. I think so too. Pam, teach him all that you know and make sure he looks scary, and get him some fake fangs, just in case."

"Yes, Master. What are you going to do to find Sookie?"

"I'll track her down. She can't have gone far and if she's still mad at me, she can suppress the bond, she's done it before, so she might have done it again. I have other ways of tracking her too."

I had hoped that last comment went past Pam. I didn't want her to know that I had put a GPS tracking device in Sookie after the Faery war, just in case she went missing again. Fortunately, the mention of the blood bond caught the attention of Havard. It took several minutes to explain to him what the bond was and what it meant. He sat stone faced, but accepted the concept. I had to give him credit; it was a lot to take in in a short amount of time.

I left the bar and Havard in Pam's hands, with instructions that they both better be in the same condition when I returned. I flew up into the air to see if I could sense Sookie, even just a little bit. I couldn't. So, I flew back to my home in the north where I had my GPS tracking device.

My home felt cozy when I got there, but quiet. I had a sudden feeling of loss, like I wouldn't ever see Sookie again. I quickly shoved it out of my head and my heart. I would find her. I flew in an upstairs window and fished my tracking device out from the top drawer of the dresser. I turned it on and nothing happened.

I flew out of the window and adjusted it to the broadest range, 100 miles. Nothing. I flew around the boarders of the state. Nothing. I flew for hours in criss-cross patterns. Nothing. Dawn was approaching and I felt the pull of sleep. I went to bed and felt nothing, empty, alone.

I made calls to everyone that had ever known Sookie. Jason called the local law enforcement and the FBI Agent that had been caught up in the Preston fiasco and they could not find her.

***

Two weeks had passed by since I had come home, and about four weeks since anyone had seen her. The only thing was the note that she left. I visited the witch, Amelia again and asked if I could hold the note and smell it. She fished it out for me, but it didn't do any good since so many people had touched it.

I walked into Sookie's room where she had been staying and visiting and looked in her closet. All her clothes were there. I remembered that Tara, her friend, had said that Sookie bought some dresses the day before she left the note. I went to visit her again.

"What kind of dresses did she buy?" I asked.

"She bought five dresses. All of them were skimpy and/or light colored and the material was lighter, not heavy. She said that she was going away for a while and needed clothes. You know, you upset her pretty badly, whatever you did. She was crying. I think she thought you rejected her. You know maybe you should just give her some time alone!"

"TIME ALONE? TIME ALONE!" I roared at her, "I CAN'T_** FEEL**_ HER. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS? DO YOU?"

"No," she responded, obviously bored with vampire talk, "what does that mean."

I could kill her, I could really kill her. I took a deep breath, not that I needed it, but I needed to buy some time to settle down. "What that means, Tara, is that I can't tell that she's alive. She can suppress our bond, I know that since she's done it before, but I could still tell she was al-alive," I said breaking up a little. "Tara, I can't feel her anymore. I think she's—" but I couldn't finish.

"It's all right Eric," she said softly, stretching up and giving me a hug. "I've had a bad track record with vampires, so I haven't given you a fair shake. I can tell you love her, really love her. I didn't know until now. I didn't believe it was possible. Look, Eric, if I knew anything more, believe me, I'd tell you. She's my friend too and has seen me through some tough times. I love her too and I want you to know I will do anything to help you find her. She loves you too, you know."

I got it together enough to say, "Thank you," and I flew out the door.

***

A couple more weeks went by and the world moved on. No one had seen Sookie. I couldn't feel her, or sense her anywhere. I asked Amelia for her things and she agreed to let me take them. Jason didn't put up a fuss about it. He asked me to go to Merlotte's one night to have a drink with Sam in Sookie's honor.

"Jason, that's very nice of you, but I don't think I can do that," I told him.

"Come on man, Pam said you've been skulking around. She said you were a nuisance and needed a night out, now come on go to Merlotte's. Sam's expecting you. Eric, look, I know how you feel. I lost my wife too. It hurts every day too, but every day it gets a little better also. The thing that helps me most is getting out with friends and family. They keep you sane and last time I checked, buddy, you were still my brother-in-law."

I made a mental note to reprimand Pam for putting me in this situation, but acquiesced, "Jason, I'll be there. What time?"

"Nine is fine, man," he said.

We had a tolerably good time. They talked about baseball and hockey and we watch a game on the big screen in the corner. I blond waitress waited on us and my mind viciously kept throwing flashes of Sookie in the corner of my eyes. I had to blink to get rid of them. We closed the bar and I thanked them for a good evening and left. They looked a little disappointed, but I knew they meant well. At least they had tried to cheer me up.

But I didn't want to be cheered up. She'd been gone for over two months now. There wasn't' a hope that she'd be back…ever. I thought about that. It made me angry. I felt like tearing something to shreds. Where was Bill when you needed him!

I flew into a wooded area near Sookie's house. I grabbed a tree and uprooted it, swinging it like the baseball bats I'd seen on TV tonight. I'd lost everything. WHACK! I cracked through another tree. I'd lost my wife. WHACK! I'd lost my children. WHACK! My love. WHACK! My life. WHACK!

"ARRRRGH!" I screamed. I took my cell phone out and I flew home. I called Pam and told her not to disturb me for the next few weeks, and to take care of the bar and my great-grandson appropriately, to set him up with an account and make sure he gets paid for working. I crumpled the phone in my hand and let the pieces fall to the ground.

By the time I arrived home, I could hardly feel anything. I was numb. My heart was empty. I skulked up the stairs and collapsed into bed as the sun rose. I had the most wonderful dream.

_Eric's dream:_

_I had just risen for the evening. I was at home and in my bed. I turned my head hear the music that was playing next to me. The music turned into a shape—a hand. The hand beckoned me to watch it as it moved back and forth in front of my eyes. _

_It disappeared and then came back and there were two hands. They caressed my face and neck and explored a little farther down. I tried to focus on the hands, but they were still floating, disembodied. I knew I was sleeping, but I tried to wake up and tried to speak, but nothing would come out. _

"_Shhh…" said a voice from somewhere in the room. "It's me."_

_Me? Me who? I wondered._

_The hands were back with a cold cloth, dripping water onto my forehead. I tried with every effort to speak and managed a groan._

"_Lover, don't talk. I'm here. I love you." Lover? LOVER? Sookie was here. She was back._

I rose again the next day, with a lighter heart, but there was no Sookie. I couldn't feel her anywhere. I searched around again to no avail. The next night I had the same dream, only this time I could see more of her and the dream went on longer.

The day after, I willed the sun to rise, so I could see her again. I would will her back to me.

On and on for the next week, I didn't eat, I didn't search, I just waited and waited for that damned sun to rise, so I could be with Sookie again and each day she came back more and more. I spoke to her, told her how much I loved her, told her she needed to come to me and stay with me, but to no avail; she was gone again by nightfall.

I was convinced now that she was gone forever. I was going to meet the sun the next day and be with Sookie. Life had no more meaning without her.

**Sookie POV-late June, shortly after her reappearance from the woods.**

"_What's the ma-" she started, but a crying jag caught in her throat and she rushed over to hug me. She cried jaggedly on my shoulder for a good while, all the time repeating, "It's you. It's really you!"_

"Well of course it's me," I said in a comforting tone. "I know I've been gone a little longer than I thought I was. I only meant to be gone for about a week and that stretched into three, which turned out to be nine weeks here."

Amelia had calmed down enough to talk and said, "You've been gone for over two months with only a note saying you were safe. What were you thinking?"

I saw her point, what had I been thinking? I had been hurt and rejected by the person that I loved the most in the world at a time when I was most vulnerable. "I needed to get away; I thought Eric left me because I didn't want to be turned. I even told him I would love him forever, but it sounded like he wanted more from me than I could give, and then without saying anything, he floated away and he was gone. Gone for three damned weeks, so when Niall suggested a retreat to Faery, I decided to go. Maybe that was being a little spiteful, but I was hurt. Wounded. I couldn't feel Eric anymore, so I…"

"Ran away again?" finished Amelia.

"Yes," I agreed quietly. Stupid, stupid me! Isn't that what I always did?

Now that I realized what I had done and Amelia seemed more subdued, I took a second to look around. "What have you done to the house?" I asked.

"We didn't Eric did. It looks better than it did. He lost it Sookie, when he could sense where you were, he went ballistic. Go look in your closet. See anything?" I did as I was told. I saw nothing. It was bare.

"What the hell did you do with my clothes!!!" I demanded.

"WE didn't do anything, Eric came and took them all away with him. He said they smelled like you and he was going to use them for a bed, so he could wake up next to you again. I swear Sookie, he's gone over the edge. He's completely cuckoo without you."

"Well where is he now?" I asked, wanting so badly to go to him and explain myself.

"We don't know, Pam said he's unresponsive to phone calls and he refuses to see her. No one has heard from him or of him in over a week now. He stopped checking in with Pam," said Amelia.

I gave Amelia one more hug and told her I was sorry for causing all this agony. I had to go to Pam and find out about Eric. If anyone knew anything, she would know.

***

It was still broad daylight when I arrived at Fangtasia and slipped in the back door. I didn't see anyone I recognized on the floor, so I made my way past the tables to the office in the back. I opened the door. "Bobby?" I thought the person behind the desk might be Bobby Burnham, Eric's daytime man.

"Bobby's not here right now," responded a voice that sounded a lot like Eric. The chair at Eric's desk spun around and my heart did a little leap while head did a double take. He sounded like Eric and looked like Eric…a LOT like Eric, but it wasn't Eric.

"Who are you?" I demanded. Had the world gone completely mad while I stepped away? Eric wouldn't stand for Bobby sitting behind his desk and now some random look-alike was sitting there? Something wasn't right with this picture.

"Who are YOU?" he echoed back.

"I'm Sookie Northman, and my husband owns this place!" _you little twit, _I added mentally_._ I calmed down a little and said more politely, "Do you know where Eric Northman is? Or where Pam is?"

"So you're the famous Sookie. My grandfather told me about you. Sorry, I didn't know who you were when you came in here. I'm Havard Erickson. I'm his great to the twenty-eighth grandson…from Norway," he said by way of explanation. "Pamela has been out looking for him every night this week. We haven't seen him or heard from him in that long. She was planning to go again tonight. She's really worried about him."

My head was reeling from this news. Eric had run off? No he wouldn't run off like that. He had to be somewhere. Somewhere where no one would look. Instantly I knew. Home. I reached out over the bond and felt him faintly. I was far away, but I would reach him before nightfall. "I have to go," I said to Havard. "I know where he is and I'll let you know he's okay when I get there. By the way, nice to meet you. Does that make me your great grandmother?"

Havard smiled at that and walked me to the door. "Guess so. Let him know that his bar is not burned down. I'll tell Pam you are alive and well and that you'll see to Eric." _If you find him. Good luck. _He thought.

"Thank you."

***

I hopped in my car and drove like a bat out of hell trying to get to the plantation home. I knew I was on the right track as I could feel his presence growing stronger and stronger. He had told me when he first brought me out here that this was his home, and where do you go when you are feeling low? Your home.

I pulled down the long drive in front of the house and parked the car. My heart was racing at the thought of seeing Eric again. It had been too long. As I raced upstairs to his bedroom, I felt horrible. I could sense that something was not right—not really wrong, but not quite right.

I opened the door to the bedroom and walked in. Eric was on the bed, still dead to the world in his daytime sleep. I turned on the light. He was the color of milk, much paler than normal. He hadn't been drinking any blood, not even TrueBlood…shit! I felt like shit. I can't believe how horribly I had treated him.

I began to mother him. I hummed a little like Gran used to do when I was sick. I smoothed his hair back and stroked his cheeks and neck and a little farther down as well, if truth be told. He moved and groaned.

"Shhh…" I said. "It's me."

I left him for a moment and hunted up a wash cloth to soothe him. Maybe it was to soothe me, I don't know, but I came back to his side and mopped his head, dripping water on him. I continued to hum, but stopped abruptly when he tried again to speak.

"Lover, don't talk. I'm here. I love you."

He lay there silent for a while longer, until the sun had fully set. His eyes opened and he saw me. He looked away and looked back again. I sat motionless, unable to read his feelings through the bond. I one swift motion, he pounced on me and pinned me to the bed.

"GOTCHA!" he growled.

**A/N: I will let you know that the next chappy will be lemony and lovely...already written, so I should be able to post in a day or two. Thanks for the kind reviews and the honest ones too!**


	40. Chapter 37 Reunited At Last

**Chapter 37 Reunited At Last**

**EPOV**

I woke after having the same dream about Sookie I'd had for the past week, the sun having just set minutes before. Tonight, I had decided, would be my last night, come dawn, I would meet the sun.

I opened my eyes to prepare for my last evening and beheld Sookie in full form sitting next to me on the bed. I looked away for a second expecting her to disappear and looked back again to confirm, but was surprised to see her still there. Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed her and pinned her to bed. If she was real, I wasn't going to let her get away again, "GOTCHA!" I growled at her.

Her eyes were wide with surprise. "Are you okay Eric? I didn't mean to go away so long. I heard you looked all over for me and you couldn't find me. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you think I'd run off again, I just went away for a little while. Would you mind letting me go now?" she said to me, twisting a little to further the hint—her voice was like music to my ears, but how could she ask me to let her go? Did she think I would ever let her go again?

"Yes, Sookie. I **would** mind letting you go," I responded. "Are you real? Is it really you?" The questions just tumbled out of my mouth. Simply to hold her again was heaven. No, I wouldn't be letting go soon at all.

"Yes, Eric. I'm here, I'm really here," she placated, "now please let me up, okay? I-" she began with some flimsy excuse for needing to get away from me, like getting up so she could breathe more easily, hmm…probably to make her escape, but I wasn't having it.

**SPOV**

"**NO!**" he said as he kissed my forehead, "You are not going anywhere." He gently kissed my nose, before huskily musing, "Look, I don't know if you are a phantom in a dream, or my real Sookie, but if this is going to be my last night here, whichever you are, I am damned well going to enjoy you!"

And with that he crushed his lips down on mine. It wasn't his usual long sensual kiss, but was a hard, brutal kiss, but a determined-to-show-me-who-I-was-dealing-with kiss and my lips ached after they were released. "Do you know what I have gone through?! What I have felt?" he pleaded, looking me in the eyes.

"Eric, I-" but I was cut off by another kiss, this one a little more passionate and I responded equally.

"Are you real?" he said more calmly after several more kisses. He still had me firmly pinned, but I wasn't minding, quite so much.

I smile at him, "Let me go and I'll let tell you," I teased, raising my eyebrows up and down.

"No," he smiled back at me. He took my arms and pinned them together with one hand and slowly unbuttoned my dress. I had been wearing a button-down white gauze dress, having basically just returned from Faery. "You smell so good, so sweet, so edible," he mumbled as his lips found one of my ready nipples. _Oh God!_ I thought as he teased it a little, before making his way up to my neck and cresting over my chin, where his lips found mine again, ready, waiting and eager. In the meantime, his other hand, having completed its unbuttoning task had been exploring my very much increased mound of a belly. His palm circled around and stroked and gently massaged before creeping down south.

"Let go," I whispered. "I want to touch you, Eric." The hand pinning me down moved a little, but Eric maneuvered himself over my chest, before letting go fully. "Why are you holding me down? I'm not going anywhere," I said rationally, through clenched teeth.

He was pinning me with most of his weight on his elbow. He wasn't hurting me and it wasn't hard to breathe, but I felt constricted. "You ran away again," he growled, his voice brooding, "and I am not letting you go ever again. I don't even know if you are real, or just one of my dreams, but this time I have you and I will NOT let you go again so easily, so stop fidgeting!"

"You had me _before_, Eric," I said testily, still squirming, "and by the way, _you_ were the one that left me. I'm sorry I didn't commit to having you turn me, but I said I would love you forever and I meant it. Then you just up and float away and I didn't see you for weeks!!! What the hell Eric! So I went on a vacation. I left a note and said I'd be safe. End of story." _HA! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it buddy!_ I thought.

"My maker called me," he countered, placing long kiss, full on my mouth. "I had been getting a tug all evening, but it had been so long, I hadn't remembered what it was. Finally, he called so hard for me that I was compelled to go to him straight away. I couldn't even talk."

"THAT'S WHY YOU LEFT ME?!" I said, trying to get up, but he wouldn't budge. "Let me sit up, please? I'm uncomfortable like this."

"All right, I'll let you up, but if you try to leave, so help me, I don't know what I'll do to you or to me." I believed him.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said tartly, finally released from his grasp, somewhat. "Why are you being so possessive anyway? You left and I went on vacation. Now I'm back and you are here. Were you really worried that I was gone, that I'd run away from you?" I asked a little more sympathetically.

"My lover," he began, "I could not feel you. I thought you were dead. No one could find you. I couldn't track you. I've been slowly going insane. I have had the same dreams about you day after day. You would come in here and tell me you were here and that you loved me and day after day I'd reach out for you and you'd disappear and I'd awaken at nightfall feeling emptier and emptier. Sookie, tonight was going to be my last night. I was going to meet the sun tomorrow. Now do you understand what you put me through?"

I was tearing up when he told me this, "Eric, how can I tell you how sorry I am? I didn't know I was gone as long as I was. I was only going to stay for a week in Faery, and it turned into three, but what I didn't realized was that Faery time was different than human time. Did you know that?"

"Faery time? You went with Niall?" he asked, sounding more than perturbed.

"Yes, he asked if I'd like to visit him in his realm, and it was so beautiful and sweet smelling." I told him all about the place and what it looked like and smelled like, and how happy it made me feel. "And I learned a lot about my family history on the Brigant side."

"Perhaps you'd rather be with your Faery family then?" he said in a snit. He sat up and released me totally.

I wasn't falling prey to his bait this time! He was mine and by god, I was going to have him tonight. I was going to show him who was boss. I pounced, as much as a seven-months pregnant mother could pounce. I suspect he let me push him over. I straddled him and pushed his hands over his head. "I'm not going anywhere again for a very," kiss, "very," kiss, "LONG time, emphasis on LONG and neither are you, my Viking."

I leaned down and kissed him with as much ferocity as I could muster. His hands were all over me, caressing me from top to bottom with such speed. I moved down to his neck placing little kisses every step of the way. I bit him, hard, but not too hard and he moaned with pleasure. His fingers slipped into my center rhythmically, while his mouth found my breasts, playfully sucking on one then the other.

"Mmmm," he moaned, "Sookie you taste so good." He bit a little and felt the beginning of my first orgasm of the evening approaching. He could feel it too and sat up a little more, with his fingers still working their blessed magic. I came with a shudder as I looked into his eyes.

"Did we do this in your dreams, lover?" I simpered in a breathy voice.

"No. Not in my daytime dreams, but when I was thinking about you, I was thinking about doing this." And with that he raised me up and set me down hard on his very ready penis. I moved up and down with him still tugging on my breasts. I could feel another heavenly orgasm coming and I leaned forward and bit him on the neck, broke the skin and sucked for all I was worth. He did the same and we came together, exchanging blood and becoming one.

Afterward, I sat there with him still inside of me, experiencing from those pleasant little aftershocks, feeling him shrinking away a little inside. My legs were wrapped around him and I felt safe. We sat like that for a few minutes, no talking, just reveling in each other's presence. I wiggled my hips a little and squeezed with my vaginal muscles and got him hard again. He got the hint and I was carefully, but abruptly placed on all fours, and Eric was quickly inside me again thrusting. His hands reached around to grab both breasts and he pulled me up to an upright position, all the time pumping like a piston on a steam engine. He whispered some of his language in my ear and found my neck again and bit down. I grabbed his wrist and made effort to bite him, but he pulled away. "No lover. I'm not ready yet. You aren't getting away that easily."

Suddenly, I was off the bed was floating with Eric in the air. I hadn't experienced this feeling since we had been together when he lost his memory. It was like being fucked by an angel. There was nothing else touching me but Eric stroking in and out, cupping my breast with one hand, playing with the nipple and pinching which sent short little spasms of pleasure right to my core, and using his other hand to rub my nub until he found just the right spot. I quit counting the number of times I came. In one swift action, I was again on the bed on my knees with Eric biting my neck again. This time he offered me his wrist and I bit down with all the energy I had left and sucked until he came with a roar.

When he was done, he licked my neck bite and laid me down gently next to him on the bed so we were facing each other. "Are you still afraid that I'll run away again?" I asked, my fingers lazily scratching his muscular back.

"Daily…hourly…I marvel every second that you have yielded to me, yet every second I fear losing you. I blame your headstrong nature, and your independent upbringing. If you had been my child I would have brought you up to be more disciplined, more respectful to your husband," he replied with a wink, pinching my nipple and running a finger up and down my side, giving me goose bumps and making my nipples hard like raisins. "You're close you know," he said languidly changing the subject before I had a chance to be angry for his last comment.

"Close?" I asked, marveling at how easily he derailed my train of thought.

"Close to having the babies. This is good," he said with some confidence.

"Yes, I'm getting tired of feeling like a blimp, but why do _you_ say it's good?" I asked out of simple curiosity.

"It means that you can't run away anymore," he said like he'd solved the riddle at last.

"I wasn't going to run. I didn't run last time, YOU DID!"

"Aha! That's where you're wrong! I was pulled away—forced to go. I didn't want to. You on the other hand, were impatient and fled to greener pastures."

"That's not tr—" I began, but stopped. It was true. "Oh shut up!" I said teasingly, poking him in the belly button. "You _are_ right, I fled again. You are probably right about the babies keeping me around. I'm sorry I escaped your clutches."

"Really sorry?" he asked with eyebrows arched.

"Yes," I giggled. "I like your clutches."

"Oh do you!" He countered and advanced toward me on the bed. I feigned being scared and scooted away from him with a little shriek. I was his turn to pounce on me and pounce he did.

He took the pillow from under my head and told me to keep my eyes shut and my arms out and not to touch him. He wanted to play a game? Well fine with me. The pillow was inserted under hips and the covers were taken off. I was a little chilly and my skin was doubly goose bumped by the cold and the anticipation.

Eric began at my toes. He sucked each one individually on both feet. This sent quivers to random parts of my body. I sighed. He moved up my left leg, kissing and nipping and running tongue up my leg until he reached his favorite spot to bite. He paused there and scraped his sharp fangs against my waiting flesh, and chuckled to himself. I wanted to open my eyes to see what he was doing, but promised to keep them shut. Next came the worst torture of all, he hovered around my engorged and very ready and wanting opening, but didn't do anything except blow a little air on it to let me know he was there. Then the touching stopped. I couldn't stand it. He said not to touch him or to open my eyes and I didn't.

"Eric?" I asked. No response, but off in the distance, I heard a microwave oven go off. Seconds later a warm liquid was being poured over me, followed by a tongue lapping up the liquid. It was quite a sensation as Eric's tongue was everywhere at once. Suddenly it was in my mouth and I could taste the TrueBlood and my sweat. I should have thought it disgusting, but didn't and I kissed him back as hard as I could, but was scolded for trying to touch. "Ugh!" I said defiantly.

My nipples were accosted next for that little outburst. While one was being fondled to attention, the other was being sucked on and drained all the while Eric's fangs were sunk in making the sensation almost unbearably pleasurable. My stomach was contracting during all of this and I moaned loudly. There was so much sensation happening to my body all at once, I thought I'd explode. "Please, please, Eric, more…touch me more."

My pleas were answered by Eric's tongue deftly darting into my middle while his hands held my buttocks firmly, squeezing. I came very quickly, gripping the sheets and writhing from side to side while my body bucked against him. In mid-orgasm, he removed his tongue and replaced it with his long and very gracious plenty, his hands still cupping my backside, holding me up for him. I screamed in pleasure as a wave rolled over me and he followed suit, scooping me up and kissing me while he finished.

**EPOV**

We laid there again next to each other, stroking and chatting a little. I still hadn't given up the idea that Sookie wasn't real, that she'd vanish suddenly, so I wanted to keep touching her. If this was a dream, it was the best dream of my life. I told her this and she laughed and rolled her eyes.

I felt a wave of pain roll over the bond saw Sookie grip the sheet slightly and she began to breathe in through her nose and out her mouth. "Are you? Are you having the babies?" I asked in an uncustomary moment of panic.

"No," she smiled at me and patted my cheek, "I am having a Braxton-Hicks."

"A what?" I asked. I knew English quite well, but once in a while Sookie delighted in throwing a curve ball at me.

She laughed. "A Braxton-Hicks contraction is one that comes every now and then, to remind you to slow down a bit, or take it easy. It is supposed to help your body perform a dress rehearsal of the real thing."

"Are you sure it is practice? How many have you had in the past few days? Are they regular?"

"I'm fine," she said defiantly. "I'd rather not talk about it. I'm a little nervous. Aren't you?"

Yes, of course my lover, you could die! "Don't worry lover, I have seen my own children being born, so I know what is to be done."

"Oh Eric, I think that's really nice of you to offer to help, but that was over a thousand years ago. Things have changed a little bit, don't you think?" No women still die, Sookie!

"Not as much as you think they have," I placated. "After all, there is still only one way out, isn't there?"

"Well, there is Cesarean section too," she reminded me.

Oh shit, I forgot about that one! "Where they cut you open? No that's not for you." Like I would let a human butcher take a knife to you dear one. "We'll get you to a doctor like Dr. Ludwig, but I'm here in case we can't make it."

Sookie looked at me. "You know, I have been going to a regular human medical doctor, since Dr. Ludwig's death. I like my new doctor a lot, although I've only been to two appointments. Everything is going well and we planned a day to deliver the babies."

"You planned the day that you have a baby? That is insane. That's not right." I had never heard of such a ludicrous thing. Freya, fate, God, Mother Nature, they all determined when babies were born, not Sookie and her doctor!

Sookie meanwhile was giggling at me. She leaned over and hugged me. "Hey, my Viking, don't be such an old fuddy duddy. Welcome to the twenty-first century, buddy!" She kissed my nose and smiled. Her face tightened as did her nails in my back.

"All right?" I asked.

"Just…another….Braxton…Hicks, there, it's going away now. Don't worry," she said smiling. Like hell, don't worry.

"Let's get you a little something to eat. You must be hungry with all your exercise," I said and wiggled my eyebrows at her seductively.

"You lead the way. Mind if I stop off at the bathroom first?"

"Only if you don't climb out the window, lover."

She grinned at that, "I won't, promise. Actually, I don't think I'd fit!"

"Sookie, you are the embodiment of beauty. You are a goddess, my goddess." She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

I know Sookie said those were practice contractions, but I sensed something about her mood, her demeanor that told me she was going to be along in the next day or two. I would plan to call Pam in a little while and let her know that I was all right and check up on Havard, and hope that she hadn't made him her love slave…at least not so soon!

I was preparing something from the cupboard for Sookie to nibble on, while it sounded like she was taken a hot shower. I fought the urge to go upstairs and revisit our shower scene…we do showers very well, I reminisced…when a searing pain shot through my abdomen. It almost sent me to the floor. I fought the pain and flew upstairs to see Sookie, standing on the bathmat with a red tinted spot under her. She was clutching the sink with white knuckles, breathing huskily through her teeth.

"Bed," she managed. I quickly lifted her and deposited her safely on the bed before another pain gripped us both. A felt a tear running down my cheek. How could she bear this kind of pain? How could I? This was almost as bad as the torture.

"Breathe," I suggested. She did. I closed off the bond. If I was going to be of any help to her, I was going to have to be able to function myself.

**SPOV**

I could feel that he had suppressed the bond. I was glad of it because I wasn't able to do it myself and he could feel my pain, just as I could. It wasn't fair. Men weren't made to handle that kind of pain.

"Eric, I love you. I'm scared," I told him as I gripped his hand through another contraction.

"Lover, shhh, there there now, I am here with you," he said comfortingly, "do you need anything? A cool cloth?"

"Did you call for anyone?" I asked.

"No."

"Whyeeeeeee…..not?" I inquired through a contract.

"No phone. I don't have a land line and I destroyed my cell phone and your's is not charged, and I am NOT leaving you alone for a minute. No telling what you might do. I looked in your bag and found a book about delivery, so I read it. I can deliver the babies myself. Do you mind if I leave you to gather some things from the house?"

I nodded for him to go ahead. Quick as a wink, he was back with all the towels he owned, a bucket, twine, scissors, alcohol, and various other things.

"Eric what if you go to sleep in a few hours and the babies come with no one here to help me?"

"I will force myself to stay awake for you Sookie. I can stay awake for a little while. You should be okay. I don't think you will deliver during the daylight hours anyway, just at night, probably tomorrow."

"Aahhh!" I screamed. "I have to push!"

"Well, push then, lover. No one is stopping you. Spread you legs farther apart and sit up a little more," he said propping my up with pillows. "I can see hair."

"Oh God!" And I pushed really hard.

"A little more Sookie, one more little push and you'll have the first one! That's my beautiful girl!"

The sensation to push floated away and I looked up to see Eric grinning at me with that famous shit-eating grin of his. "Sookie, we have a girl…"

***TBC***

**A/N: I was proofing and getting tired, so I had to end it there, sorry! I hope this was lemony enough for all and had an "awww" factor at the end. Hope to hear your reviews. One more to go and I think I'll call it a wrap, just in time for the next book…then maybe I'll try a new one with a different twist.**

**As always, I must say that the characters are not mine, but Charlaine Harris's…just exercising with them a little.**

**Check out my profile page for new poll, thanks!**


	41. Chapter 38 One Little, Two Little

**Chapter 38 One Little, Two Little, Three Little Northmans**

"_Well, push then, lover. No one is stopping you. Spread you legs farther apart and sit up a little more," he said propping my up with pillows. "I can see hair."_

"_Oh God!" And I pushed really hard._

"_A little more Sookie, one more little push and you'll have the first one! That's my beautiful girl!"_

_The sensation to push floated away and I looked up to see Eric grinning at me with that famous shit-eating grin of his. "Sookie, we have a girl…"_

* * *

**Eric POV**

I wrapped the little one in a towel and placed her on her mother's chest. She gurgled as Sookie leaned forward to give her a kiss. "Hello my darling," she said. The baby regarded her with a look of total worldly knowledge, not crying, very peaceful. Sookie looked up at me and I could feel her hands tense up. Another couple contractions that Sookie pushed through delivered the placenta. Such a delicacy in my younger days, my stomach knotted up to think about eating now. I was glad Sookie couldn't hear my thoughts!

"My lover, that's one down, two more to go. Do you feel like another one is on the way?" I asked.

"No it has settled down a little. That's good, I need to catch my breath. Did you tie off the cord?" she crooned at me, but was looking at the baby. They were the two most beautiful creatures I had ever seen. I leaned forward and kissed Sookie and the little girl—my little girl, so perfect with ten little finger and toes and perfect finger nails. Lips like her mother and slightly pointy little ears from…well, best not to dwell on the past too much…from her Faery side. "Eric?" asked Sookie in a highly forced voice.

"Lover?" I smiled, still besotted by the baby.

Sookie replied in her still strained voice through clenched teeth. "Get her off me, now…please," was all she managed to say before being racked by a very strong contraction. I moved the baby swiftly to the side of my California king bed, and wrapped her in my soft Egyptian cotton terry cloth towels so that Sookie could look at her while I helped with baby number two.

"Eric, I have some things I want to say to you, my love," she gritted out between contractions.

"Shh, later Sookie, I want you to keep quiet and focus on the babies now; lover, you and I can have a little heart-to-heart about anything in the world afterward," I said trying to comfort her.

"There's not going to be an afterward, Eric, please listen to me. You have to do it. You have to turn me. I can't live without you and you can't live without meeeee-eee. God damn this hurts," she roared as she grabbed my hair. I want you to understand, I may not make it."

"You'll be fine," I soothed. "Remember, I've been through this before, I was there for all my own children, six of them remember? You are going to be just fine."

Her grip was strong as she spat, "And what happened to your wife? Where is she now? She's a pile of bones and dust somewhere in Scandanavia-aaaaa-aaa. Is she here with you? NOT THAT I SEE! So listen to me!"

"Shh shh now, Sookie, lover, don't worry. I am not going to let you die on me."

"That's what I mean, ERIC! If I die, right here, right now…turn me." She said very definitely. "Oh God, I gotta push again. Eric!" She still had a hold of my hair and set about ripping it from my head. Her fingers relaxed as the contraction subsided.

I didn't want her to make that sort of rash decision so lightly in the throes of pain, so I placated her. "I will turn you, if you look like you are going to die, I promise you my lover."

She seemed to be soothed by that statement one moment and then sat up straighter against the pillows and said very rationally and coherently, "Here it comes."

"Breath out through your mouth and in from your nose, slowly, and push, lover," I told her, still mulling over what she had just said to me. In Colonial America, when an unwed mother was in the throes of labor, she would be asked who the father was and whomever she named would be considered the father because a woman in the height of labor, it was believed, would always tell the truth. She wanted to be turned? Granted, only if she was dying, but I'd take what I could get. I grinned. She would be with me forever. I wouldn't make her turn right away of course, but later, when she was starting to age, before she lost her youthful glow…things could be arranged…

"ERIC NORTHMAN! WOULD YOU GOD DAMN FOCUS!" she screamed at me.

"Sorry…I was just thinking. How is the pain?"

"Fucking unbearable, talk to me. Tell me something to keep my mind off things."

"Names, have you thought of a name for your daughter?" I asked.

Sookie grinned at my from under her sweaty brow. "Hadley Amelia Stackhouse Northman," she told me breathlessly with pride.

"It's a beautiful name for our beautiful daughter," I told her. I could feel the tears of joy running down my cheek. I tried not to breathe, all this blood mixed with Faery blood was making me heady. Sookie began to moan again.

"Time for another, lover?" She nodded. "Just remember to breathe," I advised as calmly as possible. I was worried that, easy as this was going for her, it was taking a lot out of her, more than I thought it should. I suddenly didn't want to be in the position of turning her. Lord knows what came over me, but I only wanted Sookie the way she was—human, with all the inherent dangers that comes with.

I massaged Sookie's legs for her while another contraction ripped through her body. This was a large heavy one and she announced that the second baby was on its way. About fifteen minutes later, out popped another, another girl. "Adele Olivia Hale Northman," Sookie announced. We went through the same routine and I place the baby on her mother's chest. Little Hadley was sleeping very soundly in her fluffy white nest, next to her mother. Sookie, very sweat-drenched and tousled looking, was making gooey noises at Adele.

The placenta was delivered for Adele—two daughters, who already bore such a striking resemblance to their mother that they almost took my breath away. "I love you Sookie Northman," I said spontaneously. I massaged her belly and her lower back and rolled Sookie onto her side for a while, when it was apparent that she wasn't going to progress any further.

I curled up behind Sookie and marveled at the pair of girls, with their long kangaroo feet. I got up from behind Sookie, and unwrapped them at Sookie's request so that she could look them over more closely. She reached out and grinned at the little toes and mushed the tiny feet gently between two fingers. "Can you roll them over so I can check out their backs?"

"Certainly, why?"

"I'm looking for something," she said like it made perfect sense.

"For what?"

"A birthmark. A particular birthmark that Niall said they would have if…" and her voice trailed off and a hard contraction hit her. I quickly rebundled the sleepy duo back in their towels and put Sookie back in her more upright position. "Aaaaahhhyyyyeeee," she screamed. "I can't take it anymore," she began to cry, "I just can't do it. I'm tired and hungry," she sobbed hoarsely. "OgodOgodOgod!"

She pushed really hard until her face was purple and then she let out another breath. "Almost there, lover, almost there, just one more hard push and," POP! went Sookie's flesh as it tore, "lover don't worry, I can heal that right up," I said.

"It burns. Eric it burns."

"Okay, but one more push and it will stop. You're very brave and this is the last one ever, so make it good!"

"Okay. Okay. Okay," Sookie repeated chanting as if in a trance before taking a big breath and bearing down to push one last time.

Eric Corbett Thor Northman made his appearance and was very definitely a boy to be reckoned with from the get go. He arrived with a howl and a fierce warrior look. I loved him instantly.

"Sookie, all you have to do is deliver his placenta and then you are all done. You've done a great job," I said with total pride kissing her sweaty forehead, "and I am here now. I won't leave you again."

"My lover, I won't ever leave you again either," she said smiling at me. But I have to tell you something else." She gave me a coy look.

"And what's that my dear one?" I grinned back at her.

"I'm not done, Eric."

* * *

**A/N: So I guess I fibbed a bit. I thought this was a great way to break up what was to be the last chapter into two parts, since I am taking longer to post than I anticipated. Sorry about that! I hope you enjoyed it as I am enjoying your reviews.**


	42. Chapter 39 The Last Chapter but one

**Chapter 39 The Last Chapter…but one**

**A/N: I'm so sorry, I know I said this would be the last chapter, but there was a point in it that I thought would make a wonderful cliffy, so I just went for it. The REAL last chapter will be next, I swear on a stack of Charlaine Harris novels!**

**Speaking of Charlaine Harris, thanks so much for the loaners! I'll be bringin' home next chapter.**

* * *

**_EPOV (from previous chapter)_**

_"Sookie, all you have to do is deliver his placenta and then you are all done. You've done a great job," I said with total pride kissing her sweaty forehead, "and I am here now. I won't leave you again."_

_"My lover, I won't ever leave you again either," she said smiling at me. "But I have to tell you something else." She gave me a coy look._

_"And what's that my dear one?" I grinned back at her._

_"I'm not done, Eric."_

* * *

**Sookie POV**

"I'm not done, Eric," I repeated, exhausted and exasperated, "can you hear me? I said there's a fourth…" I heard the door open and Pam was standing there, followed shortly by Havard. I had only met him for a few minutes, so I felt kind of awkward, naked, with my legs splayed for the entire world to gawk at, but at the same time, I felt like who the fuck cares! _Gees I'm testy when I'm in labor_, I thought.

"A fourth?" said Pam who came into the room. Havard chose to turn around and walk elsewhere in the house. "Master, I hadn't heard from you in so long that I decided to track you. I see Sookie found you? How are you doing, Sookie?" she asked with genuine concern.

Pam had never had a chance to have a baby in her human years, and I don't know that she would have ever wanted one, so I regarded her, thinking what a shame that was as she was so beautiful. She would have had such beautiful children, but that would have been so un-Pam! "Hello, Pam. Yes there are four of them. I found out after an ultrasound with my new doctor," I said, trying to smile through a lighter contraction.

Eric turned to Pam, "Can you grab Baby Eric from me while Sookie delivers this last one? The girls are sleeping right now, pretty soundly, but if you hear them crying, please come and get them too. How is Havard? Apologize for my behavior toward him. I'm sorry I have been not myself lately."

Pam nodded to Eric and bowed deeply to him. "Yes Master," she said, trying to stifle a smile, and with that she scooted out to the living room downstairs to give me some privacy for the final baby. "Baby Eric," I could hear her say giggling.

"You know Pam will never let me live that down!" he mused. He rolled his eyes at me.

"Well you picked his name out. And Thor? Wait until she hears his whole name!" I grinned back at him.

"I gave you Corbett, thanks for giving me Thor!" Eric mused. He went on to say, "With a name like Thor, he'll be respected. I can feel that he's going to be a strong boy. I'll teach him to hunt." I could tell Eric was going to be a proud father. I might have to rein him in a little…or maybe not. He gave up his own children; unwillingly of course, so it was time that the fates gave back a little.—paybacks for good behavior?

Eric and I had been talking back and forth about little Eric for so long, and the conversation matriculated into talk of the girls, and what they might do when they were older, where they might go to school. I was feeling so carefree and happy, I hardly noticed that I had stopped having contractions, but when I did, I became alarmed. "Eric, something's not right."

"Are you feeling unwell?"

"No! I'm feeling too well," I said frantically trying to remember the last time I had a contraction. "Do you remember the last time I had a contraction?"

"It was about an hour ago."

"No! No! No!" I screamed as tears began running down my face. "This can't—can't be—be happening," I stuttered through my panic.

Eric remained calm in the face of my panic. "Lover, I am here for you, don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

"You promised, Eric, remember, you promised, if anything does…" I couldn't let my children become orphans without a mother. I knew what it was to be raised without a mother…hell I never really had one until my own died, and Gran took over, but I knew that I needed to be there for my children and for Eric too. He couldn't live without me…and I wouldn't let him die because of me. I loved him too much for that.

"I know. I promised," he said trying to comfort me. "Let's just focus on the baby, right now, okay?"

I couldn't feel anything moving around and I was getting scared. "Should we call 9-1-1? Pam must have a cell phone." I asked Eric.

"And tell them what Sookie?" he said sounding a little exasperated at the thought of using human help, "that your up-until-recently-suicidal vampire husband has successfully delivered your half-Faery children in an unsanitary farm house way out in the boonies? They'd lock us both up and take away the children. No. I'll take care of you, don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you, or the child."

He began to massage my stomach with one hand while he gently slid those multi-talented fingers up inside of me gently massaging there too. I was only really vaguely aware that any of this was happening as, in one of those rare times, he was able to glamour me. I guess in order to be glamoured; I just need to be in a position to want to be glamoured. Then, in what seemed like endless minutes later, things started to happen, and I felt I had to push again and told Eric as much.

"In through the mouth and out through the nose, here it comes…" he said, still glamouring me as with everything he was worth. I think it took a lot out of him.

**Eric POV**

All I could think was thank god Sookie allowed herself to be glamoured again. I had only been able to do that too her once before at Russell's place. I wondered if it was because, when presented with a life or death situation, she finally dropped all her barriers and truly let me in. When this was all over, I'd have to talk with her about that.

Minutes later, I saw the tiny little head, so much smaller than the others, coming out of the birth canal. Sookie didn't have to push much and the baby shot out. Another boy, but he wasn't breathing. I couldn't hear his little heart either. I looked up to see Sookie crying.

"HE'S BLUE!" she screamed. "Is he dead? Can you save him? Eric?"

I pinched his tiny little bottom, and cleared his nose and suddenly he took a breath and cried. I breathed a sigh of relief, or would have if I did that sort of thing. Small he was, but breathing normally, crying lustily, and turning a delicious pink color. I took some time to make sure he was okay before presenting him to his mother. I placed him on her chest and she looked at him and smiled.

"And what are you calling this little guy?" she asked weakly. Sookie said I could name any boys and she would name any girls.

Sookie wasn't looking so good, so I tried to brighten her mood a bit with the name. "Leif Jason Havard Northman," I announced after a few minutes of thought. She repeated his name and said hello and kissed him on the forehead before I brought him down to Havard in the living room. He was very pleased to hold his little namesake. Baby Eric was screaming his lungs off, but quit when I told him gently to settle down and Pam was able to lull him to sleep.

"You'll be hiring a nanny, of course," Pam said in a tone that meant I'd better, or else.

I played with her a little bit, "Now Pam, this is your little brother. Play nice…" I winked at Havard, after making sure he was comfortable holding the new little one, and left the living room.

When I returned to the bedroom, Sookie was smiling at me, but looking pale. I cleaned her up with some hot towels and brought her something to drink before snuggling up next to her in bed. I sliced my wrist with my teeth and brought it to her mouth and said, "Drink."

She did. She drank and drank my blood. "Thirsty much?" I asked. "You are going to turn into one of us if you take any more. Enough for now."

"Isn't that what you want? For me to turn into a vampire? So I can live with you forever?" she said weakly turning to look at me, studying my reaction.

I couldn't deny that from the moment I first saw her in that silly, pure, little sundress, that's what I wanted from her—forever, eternity, whatever you wanted to call it. I couldn't help my honest answer, "Yes."

"Well," she said, and all I could do was come to the conclusion that I had known from the very beginning, that she'd be mine forever, "I will, but not for a while, but eventually, before I get to old. Can you wait for me? We have to raise the children and get them settled of course. So like in a hundred years or so?" she said coquettishly.

"A hundred years is quite a while for a human," I countered with an air of curiousness in my voice.

She grinned. "Part Fae, it's a genetic perk," she said by way of explanation, she switched tacks saying, "Can you forgive Niall for keeping me so long from you? For making me stay so long in Faery? I don't think he thought you'd go off the deep end like you did. I'm glad you didn't—glad I found you before it was too late."

"Go on," I said hating that this had anything to do with Niall.

She did. "Eric, Niall told me the most incredible Faery stories while I was there. Legends, you might call them. He told me about how our family came to have my gift, or my curse as I used to call it. He has it too you know."

This was alarming. I didn't know Brigant could read minds too. "Can Niall read my mind?"

"I don't think so. I think he just reads Faery minds. Anyway," she chattered on, "one of the legends that he told me was about a birthmark—a crescent shaped birthmark."

"And what about this crescent-shaped birthmark?" I inquired, gently stroking Sookie's breast bone with an errant finger. Her nipples hardened. They were dark and her breasts were hard. "Keep talking," I said as I slid down next to her and gently sucked some of the tension away from her breast. Mother's milk. I bit her nipple a little with my fang to release some blood. Sookie moaned, but I said, "Keep talking, lover, I'm listening."

"No you're, oh god that feels good, no you're not listening. Stop it." But I didn't stop. I just moved over to the other one, with Sookie moaning all over again.

**Sookie POV**

I couldn't believe my horny vampire husband wanted to screw me in bed next to our two little sleeping daughters. "Eric, please! We have company!" I said as I motioned over to the little angels.

He did stop, but not before grinning at me. He moved up my body with feathery little kisses until he found my mouth. He pause for one final look at me and gave me one of the longest most passionate kisses I'd had in a long time. Finally, after I was about to pass out from the pleasure of it all, he stopped and looked at me funny and said, "You were saying what about the birthmark?"

"Birthmark? What—" I said forgetting what topic we were one before our romantic interlude. I remembered, "oh yes, the birthmark. There is a legend about a group of Faeries, who left the realm ages and ages ago, like millennia (Word of the Day) ago. These Faeries settled in what is now Scandinavia. Their descendants are all the blond-haired, blue-eyed, tall and beautiful Scandinavians from Norway and Sweden."

"Like yours truly?" he said, trying to kiss me again.

I held him off. "Stop it Eric, this is important! Yes exactly like mine truly! You are one of those descendants, I think. If so, then, even though you are a vampire, you have Faery blood, too, Eric. Don't you see what this means?" I asked hopefully, but didn't think that he was grasping.

"Not really. Are you saying I am a Faery, like you?" he asked, suddenly a little more interested in the story and less in me.

"Yes, a Faery, but not like me, like them. Like your tribe. Like the band of Faeries that bear the crescent birthmark. When Niall told me this story, I couldn't wait to get back to check you out to see if you are one of them. I mean I know your body intimately by touch, but I've honestly never looked you up and down in the light, so drop your drawers Viking and let's have a look," I said grinning.

He did as he was told and I got out of bed, feeling amazing I might add for having just had four little babies, and examined my husband from tip to tail. He made impatient noises when I raised his foot up like I was going to pick out horse's hoof. "Is this really necessary?" he asked.

"Found it." I said as I spied a little tiny crescent on the interior of his right thigh, just below his right butt cheek. Whimsically, I gave it a little kiss and was about to stand up again, when Eric moaned with pleasure and told me to do that again. "What; do this? I said as I flicked the spot a little with my tongue before laying my lips gently against it." I was granted another moan.

"How are you feeling right now, my lover?" he asked in a sultry rumbling voice.

"Hmmm…I actually don't feel like a woman who's just given birth to four children. Why?" I stood up and kissed lips gently. "Why?" I said again, smiling.

"Sookie," he said taking in a deep breath, "I think that you need to take a shower," he said snidely raising his eyebrows up and down a little, suggestively. "I think the babies will be just fine resting here for a couple minutes, while we get you cleaned up, won't they?"

I looked at them sleeping in their soft cotton towels nests and thought they'd be okay. I knew what Eric had on his mind, but I thought I'd play innocent…for a while! "I think they'll be fine. I don't think I can walk to the shower though, can you carry me?" I simpered. I could walk just fine, but I wanted a Scarlett moment. He picked me up right away and carried me to the bathroom down the hall from his bedroom. He had me cradled like a child and with each step, the tip of his gracious plenty gently pressed onto my lower back making me incredibly horny.

He set me down on the counter and looked at me with the look of a man possessed. Oh god was I in for it! I shut my eyes in anticipation and hear the shower curtain slide into place and heard the taps turn on. I felt the bathroom heating up and becoming moist with the steam. "Open your eyes Sookie," he said. I did and he was right before me, smiling. He said nothing more, but lifted me into the shower and stood me up under the jets of hot steamy water. It did feel good to get cleaned off. I wiped the water from my eyes and looked at Eric. "Shampoo?" he said, reaching for the bottle. He lathered my hair and rinsed me off, and was trying to recreate to some extent our first shower together. I wasn't about to stop him.

"You are awfully quiet," he whispered in my ear as he was rubbing soap over my engorged breasts. The touch was erotic to say the least—a feeling somewhere between pleasure and pain, with a need for release. This feeling passed down to other regions of my body was making me lose my concentration on what he was saying and doing. All this, coupled with the heat made me turn into a limp noodle.

"Talk to me lover," Eric said, sliding his fingers into me.

"Can't…can't talk…oh, Eric, kiss me," I said coming close to an end. I was expecting fierce lips, but the fingers retreated and the lips were soft on mine and then gone. I opened my eyes. Eric was lathering a washcloth and staring at me. Well, maybe not staring as much as glaring. Panic gripped me, "what's wrong?"

"I want you to finish your story. You want sex. We are both going to get what we want. Talk to me."

I began again. "So where did I leave off?" He washed my left leg starting at the foot. I spoke to him while standing on one leg. "We've established that you are of a clan of Faeries, descended from anyway, right?"

"Yes, go on," he said, indicating that I should put my left foot down in exchange for the right foot.

"Well that would explain why our eye color and our hair color are the so similar."

He stopped washing and looked up. "Sookie, get to the point, which I hope is not our similar looking complexions."

"The birthmark," I said and was regarded by Eric kissing his way up to my belly button, "the birthmark is meaningful because it means, that you are part Fae."

"I think we've established that fact, proceed," he said standing up. He was still hard, but waiting patiently and was now circling my very tender and very perky nipples with his thumbs.

"Eric, Niall told me that this particular tribe, is very fertile…they populated the whole peninsula in just a few years, after all. Eric, what I am trying to tell you is that even though you are a vampire, and vampires are generally considered sterile, a little part of you is still Fae, from that one special tribe and Niall believes that you were the one that was responsible for my condition."

"I got you pregnant? That's a ridiculous idea. Why didn't you get pregnant before, when I lost my memory?"

"Because you are a vampire and that part wins out over the Faery part, MOST of the time, but not ALL of the time. You came to me before the Fae war, remember, to _claim_ me? If my calculations are right, then I didn't deliver early, I delivered on time and the children are yours and not…" I couldn't bring myself to say Preston.

Eric had ceased touching me altogether and was standing there with a oddest look on his face. When he did speak, it was to say, "Impossible." He continued to have a range of expressions fall over his face, ranging from denial, to elation and back again.

Suddenly, Eric sprang into action…

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	43. Chapter 40 The Last Chapter

**Chapter 40 The Last Chapter**

_**Sookie POV**_

"_Because you are a vampire and that part wins out over the Faery part, MOST of the time, but not ALL of the time. You came to me before the Fae war, remember, to _claim_ me? If my calculations are right, then I didn't deliver early, I delivered on time and the children are yours and not…" I couldn't bring myself to say Preston._

_Eric had ceased touching me altogether and was standing there with the oddest look on his face. When he did speak, it was to say, "Impossible." He continued to have a range of expressions fall over his face, ranging from denial, to elation and back again._

_Suddenly, Eric sprang into action…_

**

…action and I was unmercifully pressed against the wall of the shower, while a rain of kisses fell all over my body. He was everywhere at once. He drank from my breasts, and licked, bit and drank from other areas too. I was kissed forcefully and soundly, like he meant it.

"Tell me you want me lover," he said, putting himself inside me, making me want him over and over again.

"I want you. Eric. I want you…only you…forever," I said with each massive thrust as he bit and drank from my neck. He came and I took his offered his wrist did the same.

"I want you only forever too Sookie," he said raggedly. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I returned as we stood exhausted for a minute with our foreheads pressed together.

Eric toweled my off with the one remaining towel he had in his stockpile and then toweled himself off. He carried me back down the hall to his room and found me some of his clothing to wear. Adele and Hadley were stirring, making mewing kittenish noises. I sat on the side of the bed where they were and picked Hadley up and brought her little mouth to my nipple and she latched on, very well, I thought as not all new babies can do that. I motioned for Eric to bring Adele to my other breast. If I was going to nurse all four of them, it was going to have to be two at a time.

"Eric, why don't you change the sheets and clean up a little while I feed our girls and then you can bring the boys up and I'll feed them too. Then we can have a proper look at them as well. Okay?"

"Sure," he said, smiling from ear to ear.

The bed of course was changed in a matter of seconds, with me in it I might add, and I hardly felt a thing! If he or she would stoop to that type of occupation, a vampire might make a darn good cleaning person. I was wondering why no one thought of that before now, when a beaming Eric carried his boys into the bedroom.

"Are we being rude to Pam and Havard?" I asked. "I didn't make a very good impression on him the first time I met your great-great-great whatever grandson, so I don't want him to think I'm rude."

"I sent him home with Pam. She's going to bring diapers and bottles and everything else on the checklist here before sunrise, not to mention some fresh food for you. Will you stay here, now?" he asked, in a begging tone of voice.

"Oh honestly, Eric," I said a little amused, "I'm hard pressed not to! I can't walk away with four newborns and no car…in fact; we need a van now with four car seats! You're going to have to give up that Corvette now!" I teased.

"NEVER!" he winked still grinning.

"Ready to begin the examinations?" I asked seriously.

"Ready when you are, lover," he said, still grinning. I think the grin might be a permanent fixture from now on. Oh the things I have to put up with!

After they finished nursing, we had all the milk-drunk little babies swaddled tightly and in a neat little row, like cord wood. They were very peaceful, so I hated to bother them, but this was too important. "Hadley first then, she's the oldest," I said, mumbling as I undressed her. I smiled as I looked over every inch of the little fuzzy body. She had a hairy little back and the cutest little butt cheeks that you ever saw! I pinched one of them gently—couldn't help it! It was below the right one that I saw the teensy little crescent mark. My eyes filled with water. It meant the world to me that Eric was truly the father of my children—_our_ children!

Eric had red streaks running down his cheeks too. "I would have loved them as my own anyway Sookie, but this, this is an overwhelming feeling. We, our kind, just…and now this…and," he stumbled over the words, but never was able to finish the sentence, he was so emotional.

Adele was next, so I looked right away under her right leg below her bottom and found the same little mark. It must show up there and nowhere else, I thought, so Eric carefully unwrapped the boys and took a peek. Their marks were there too. I breathed out the tension that I hadn't known I'd been holding in and felt wonderful. "Eric," I sighed, "this is _our_ family."

He looked deeply into my eyes and sighed back, "Yes, lover, and I am happier than I could ever possibly imagine I'd be. You have no idea the depths of my happiness."

I was going to answer back that, yes I did know the depths of happiness, but I let it go and chose to snuggle next to Eric and watch our cord-wood four snoozing peacefully. Leif opened his eyes and looked around for a moment. He looked right at me, and I swear he smiled, then closed his eyes and went back to sleep again. A wave of contentment washed over me and I wondered if that was from him. I reached out and pulled him closer to me and kissed him. He gurgled a little and Eric smiled, not saying anything.

We stayed like that until Pam got back with a delivery van full of cribs, diapers, wipes, formula, clothes, bottles, food for me, playpens, you name it, it was in there. It took no more than a few minutes for her, and Eric, to haul the whole thing into an empty bedroom upstairs where Eric immediately began working on putting together the cribs.

"My love, I have to sleep now. I've had Pam call Bobby Burnham to see what needs to be done about legal papers, and so forth. He'll be here at three o'clock today to discuss the matter. I also had Pam bring her extra charger, so you can use your cell phone. If you don't mind now Sookie, I feel the pull of the sun," he told me sounding a little dejected about having to go to sleep. "Bobby is going to line up help too, we'll interview them tomorrow evening," he said lethargically.

"Eric, you're falling asleep on the job, go to bed. I'll be okay, go now, we'll be here when you wake up." Eric kissed me and went to lie on his bed in the dark. I meanwhile retired to rest on a bed in a spare bedroom and brought the baby monitor with me. The kids were in the bedroom next to me, sleeping two in a crib.

I was content as I laid there on the bed thinking over my most incredible day. Somewhere in the middle of the thought I fell asleep and awoke to a raucous set of wailing babies. They all wanted something different and all at once. I'm no singer, but I was forced to sing to them while I changed four little wet bottoms. They seemed to like it well enough that they all settled down to listen. Great! I thought, I don't want to have to sing in front of Eric. How embarrassing!

I talked with them as I nursed them, amazed at how self-aware they were. They either slept or watched me rocking the others with contented looks on their faces, patiently waiting for their turn. I could feel their thoughts rather than hear them. I hoped that continued—I didn't want to read their minds too. I knew I'd be able to block them out as I had done with Gran and Jason growing up, but I really didn't want to have to do that. It was nice to be able to let me guard down when I was at home.

I snoozed for another couple hours after making sure they were all asleep again, and did the whole routine over again. The babies behaved in the same orderly fashion as they had done before. I knew this couldn't possibly be the norm, but it sure was nice before help was hired! I slept again for a couple hours and had just completed my routine again when I realized it was time to meet with Bobby Burnham. He brought all the documents necessary to formalize their births and would drop them at the county clerk's office later that day. He even brought a release for the local newspapers in Shreveport and Bon Temps. Eric must have thought of everything on his check list. I made a mental note to thank him later.

I stayed awake and ate some of the food that Pam brought over. I was starving and I hadn't realized it, but after feeding four little mouths myself, I realized that I should be eating like a cow—lots of greens, well lots of everything! I was on my way upstairs to see if the babies were okay and to check and see if Eric was awake, when I almost stumbled on the top step because of the wave of pride and happiness that washed over me. Well, Eric was awake. Two seconds later, he emerged, neat as a pin, from the bedroom with the same cheesy and very happy grin on his face as he had the night before. "Are you ever going to wipe that grin off you face?" I asked him.

"Not in a million years," he said. "Let's go see the kids."

We walked into their little bedroom to find them all wide awake and looking at us. They were odd little babies, but they were _our_ odd little babies. "Life doesn't get much better than this, does it?" I asked.

Eric held me tighter and replied, "No."

THE END

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**Hope you all enjoyed reading!**

**Disclaimer: Thanks to Charlaine Harris for the loan on the characters. I am formally giving them back now.**


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